Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

St. Brigid's national school for girls in Palmerstown, Dublin 20, featured in news reports recently because it was not included on the list of schools building projects announced by the Minister of Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, several weeks ago, despite an assurance being given by a Minister that the project would be included on the list. It is almost ten years since the school authorities applied to have the school modernised and upgraded.

St. Brigid's national school is housed in an old building constructed in the 1950s. Since the construction of a flat-roof extension in the 1970s, no further substantial works have taken place in the school. The original application for works was made in 1999 and the proposed project proceeded to design stage in 2000. A design team estimated the project would be completed in May 2003. New plans were submitted in 2005 on foot of a request by the Department made in 2004. The authorities were informed at that point that the plans would be assessed as a priority project. In 2006, the Department wrote to the school authorities indicating that the project was long overdue and badly needed. Although the site was ready for construction in 2007, the project did not feature on the most recent list of school building projects announced a couple of weeks ago.

Students at the school must contend with an old fashioned, inadequate heating system which broke down in March last year. As a result of this breakdown, one of the teachers spent Monday mornings mopping the floors, affixing gas cylinders to heaters and telephoning a plumber to beg that he repair the boiler. In addition, teachers were unable to cook or heat foods at lunchtime because electrical sockets would blow due to increased demand. The school also had to hire expensive gas heaters at a cost of €700 because it could no longer heat the school.

A sum of €750,000 has been spent on consultation fees and moving prefabricated buildings from one site to another as part of the project. The prefabricated buildings on the site cost the Department €10,000 per month to rent. Clearly, putting the project on the long finger does not make economic sense.

Teachers and students must avoid water dripping from ceilings and run from prefabricated buildings to the main building between classes. As running water is not available in classrooms, water must be brought into classrooms in buckets if it is required under the curriculum. Health and safety issues arise for teachers and pupils. The buildings have mould, mildew and dry rot and make for a poor learning environment. The cost of heating the prefabs is substantial and the school is too cold in winter and too warm in summer. In addition, there are insufficient classrooms.

St. Brigid's is an excellent school and community facility. The teachers and pupils, who try their best in the circumstances, have been fighting for the refurbishment project for years. Having been promised the project would proceed before the 2002 and 2007 elections, they have learned that it is still on the long finger. In this day and age, it makes no sense to place pupils and teachers in conditions akin to those described by Dickens. The alleged objective of the Government is to have more sustainable public buildings to address climate change. The school buildings in St. Brigid's national school are inefficient and wasteful of energy because the Department has refused to invest the money required for the refurbishment project. The project should be a Government priority.

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the position with regard to the proposed building project for St. Brigid's national school, Palmerstown, Dublin 20.

St. Brigid's national school is a fully vertical, all-girls school, which means it caters for pupils from junior infants to sixth class, inclusive. It has a current enrolment of 399 pupils. Enrolment at the school has decreased by 12% over the past five years. The school has a staffing level of a principal, 15 mainstream teachers and five special education teachers. The board of management of the school has applied to the Department for large-scale capital funding for an extension and refurbishment project. The brief for the proposed project is to upgrade and extend the existing accommodation. The upgrade will include the replacement of all windows, flat roof remediation and mechanical and electrical works

The additional accommodation being provided will comprise 739 sq. m., which will include the provision of general classrooms and enhanced staff facilities. The proposed project is at stage six of the architectural planning process, which is tender action stage. The tender report was submitted to the Department in November 2007.

As the Minister has indicated in the House many times, the Department must prioritise how it spends its capital funding to ensure it is first targeted at areas and schools most in need. To enable this, each application is assessed against published prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects. These criteria were formulated following consultation with the education partners. Under the criteria, each application, once assessed to determine the level and type of need presenting, is assigned a band rating. Projects are progressed from the initial design stages through to tender and construction commensurate with the band rating assigned to them and as funding is available.

The project for St. Brigid's national school has been assigned a band 2 rating, the second highest band rating possible. Higher band 1 rated projects address accommodation needs in rapidly developing areas where either no accommodation exists or the existing accommodation is not sufficient to meet the needs of a growing population. It also addresses the provision of accommodation for special needs pupils, structurally unsound buildings and the provision of accommodation to underpin rationalisations.

Given the extent of the demand on the Department's capital budget for projects in these categories, it is not possible for the Department to give an indicative timeframe as to when the project for St. Brigid's national school can be approved to proceed further. The Department's capital allocation for next year will amount to more than €581 million which will allow it to continue to invest significantly in school buildings throughout the country, provide additional school places, refurbish existing schools and invest in higher education infrastructure.

The Deputy will appreciate that it is only possible to meet all the school accommodation needs incrementally and over time and that an orderly and structured manner is critical to ensuring the most urgent needs are met first. This is ensured by the implementation of the prioritisation criteria which the Minister has outlined.

The Minister assures the Deputy that the progression of the project for St. Brigid's national school will be considered in this context and as the necessary funding becomes available. Again, I thank the Deputy for providing me with the opportunity to address the House on this matter and outline the current position.