Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise this important issue once again. Commitments were given to provide a new national school at Kilfinane in County Limerick in the lead-up to both the 2002 and 2007 general elections. We were certain construction would commence following the election in 2007, but nothing has happened in the interim.

On 15 February 2001, the management board received a commitment in writing that approval had been granted for the "provision of a new school at the greenfield site". The then Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, subsequently confirmed this was the case. On 4 January 2007, the management board was informed in writing that the school was "one of 54 schools that has been recently approved to proceed to tender and construction over the next 12 to 15 months".

The current school was built in 1840 as a church and was converted to a school in 1887. It was last refurbished after a fire in 1909. It has a current enrolment of 137 pupils, encompassing an annual increase in each of the last three years as a result of the increased population in the area. The toilets are located outside the main building, leading to problems with child safety and protection, potential bullying and discomfort and stress for staff who cannot supervise due to the extremely high windows which provide no visibility for students availing of toilet facilities.

In March 2005, the school had to be evacuated due to an infestation of rats. The school secretary operates from a stand-alone cubicle in the entrance hall, the resource teacher works in the store room and the learning support teacher provides remedial teaching in a cubicle in a shared classroom. Public access to the school is via a narrow back lane with serious road safety issues.

The building itself is very old. As I stated, it was built in the 1880s. It consists of six classrooms, a hall and a cloakroom. The classrooms are small — three of them are only 25 metres in area — and are divided by thin panels of timber and glass which are not soundproof. The windows are high and many cannot be opened for ventilation. The hall which is used for PE and dancing classes has been reduced in size to accommodate a much needed secretary's office. There is one more room in the building which is used as a library, a classroom for the learning support teacher, an office and a staff room. Anyone conscious of safety will be aware of the real danger this school presents if, God forbid, a fire occurs.

One of my main concerns is the location of the toilets. The children are forced to leave the security of the school building and cross a yard in all types of weather to go to the toilet. This practice is not acceptable in this day and age, neither is it ideal for children suffering from diabetes or asthma. Some children are genuinely nervous about going out to the toilet alone during class. Concern has been highlighted about the presence in the area last year of an undesirable individual known to have taken photographs of young girls. His actions have also demonstrated a good knowledge of the geography of the more secluded areas of the school, which is worrying. The parents need a more secure environment for their children.

Kilfinane national school is located in a residential area on a steep incline. The narrow road becomes dangerously congested at school delivery and collection times. It is impossible for a bus to undertake a school run owing to a lack of space. The parish of Kilfinane is rapidly expanding with the latest estate of houses due for completion in November 2008. As yet, no provision has been made to cater for the extra children who intend enrolling during the next few years. The school is a co-educational school with a current enrolment of 137 children. There are five teachers, a learning support teacher and a resource teacher who are dedicated to the education of their children. They are patient, kind and always have the best interests of the children at heart. Their task of teaching is a daily struggle for them and their pupils. They must contend with limited resources and an unacceptable noise level.

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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The Deputy must conclude.

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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They need and are entitled to practical working conditions to enable them to teach effectively.

In January 1998, the board of management applied to the Department of Education and Science to carry out structural work on the school. The Department undertook a feasibility study and took into consideration that the school is located in a restricted site and is subject to a preservation order. The Department decided a new school on a greenfield site was required and approval for same was granted in 2001-02. A promise was made that the new school in Kilfinane would commence construction immediately following the general election. In November 2002, the Sisters of St. Paul donated a site for the school. The Department carried out a feasibility study and the site was deemed suitable.

Brian O'Shea (Waterford, Labour)
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The Deputy has gone over time.

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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Kilfinane has not been included in the Department's building programme since then. This is a Dickensian educational facility. I implore the Government, particularly the Minister and the Minister of State, to respond to the basic needs of the children, parents and teachers of Kilfinane national school.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Deputy Neville for raising this matter because it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the position with regard to the proposed building project for Kilfinane national school, County Limerick. Kilfinane national school has a current enrolment of 126 pupils. It has a staffing of a principal, four mainstream assistants, one permanent resource teacher and one permanent learning support teacher, the latter shared with another school. Originally, the board of management applied to the Department of Education and Science for capital funding for an extension project. A feasibility study was commissioned to examine the merits of upgrading and extending the existing building as opposed to the provision of a new school on a greenfield site. The Department took a decision in favour of the greenfield option on the basis of the outcome of this study and for reasons of cost effectiveness.

A site was identified, inspected and found to be generally suitable for the construction of a new school. This has been purchased by the diocese. It is intended to provide long-term accommodation in the new building for a principal, five mainstream assistants and the full range of ancillary accommodation appropriate to a school of this size. The project was included among those announced by the Minister for Education and Science on 29 November 2006 to proceed to tender and construction stage. Tenders have been received and the project is awaiting approval to proceed to construction.

Dan Neville (Limerick West, Fine Gael)
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When?

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister stated previously in this House that he shares fully the concerns of the whole school community in Kilfinane about their school building, particularly in the matter of the outdoor toilets. The Deputy will be aware that he visited the school in the recent past and spoke directly to the pupils, teachers and parents, assuring them that this situation would be remedied as soon as resources are available.

However, the Deputy will appreciate that while the Minister is committed to advancing the project for Kilfinane as soon as funding is available, the reality is that not all the demands on the Department's capital budget can be met at the same time. This being the case, all application for capital funding in the Department must be prioritised and advanced in accordance with the priority attaching to them. To achieve this, the Department of Education and Science consulted the education partners following which it introduced prioritisation criteria for the allocation of funding to large-scale building projects.

Not alone has the introduction of these published criteria improved the management of the building programme but they also ensure an orderly advancement over time of all school building projects, with the most urgent need being addressed first in accordance with the level of funding available. The Minister does not wish to see any school operating from less than satisfactory accommodation. However, he must be realistic in terms of the overall demand on the Department's budget not only to meet the needs of rapidly developing areas where there is little or no school accommodation in existence but to address the decades of under-investment in the existing school stock prior to 1978. This is not an easy task and it will take time. An enormous volume of work has been carried out by the Department in recent years with more than 7,800 projects having being carried out during the lifetime of the previous national development plan.

The Department has been positioned with an allocation of €581 million in the current budget to continue with its programme of work to provide pupil places where they are needed and to continue its modernisation programme for schools such as Kilfinane. The Minister told the pupils, teachers and parents in Kilfinane national school that their building project is a priority. He wants to again assure them that he is sincerely committed to advancing their project as soon as the requisite funding is available.