John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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I was delighted to hear Deputy Hayes speaking about the new contractual arrangements for the provision of much-needed ICT systems in schools. I am sure the Minister of State will agree that the issue I am about to raise is light years behind that.

Carn national school in Gurteen, County Sligo, is a three-teacher school with a current enrolment of 72 pupils. The pupils are crammed into two small classrooms in the old school building and a prefabricated classroom, which houses the infant classes. The condition of the older building is extremely poor - it has old slate roofing and neither the walls nor the ceilings are insulated. The school toilets are damp and run down. The school playground has numerous hazards, such as an old and uneven tarmac surface and broken grates and gullies. It is an appalling set of circumstances. The space in which the school bus and the parents' cars have to be parked when dropping off pupils is extremely limited. This is a cause of huge concern, especially as the school is located beside a T-junction on the primary road between Tubbercurry and Boyle. There are major safety concerns when the school bus and many cars arrive at the start and end of the school day. Carn national school does not even have a staffroom facility. The school office is just four feet wide.

The immediate prospect for the school is that its enrolment is set to increase following the recent announcement by the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, that the neighbouring Annaghmore national school is to close in June of this year. The board of management of Carn national school has submitted site details, title deeds and Ordnance Survey documentation to confirm that Gurteen parish has donated a suitable site, in an excellent location, for the proposed new school. The education of our children at primary level must be to the fore in the Minister's future policies. In light of the level of economic growth experienced by Ireland over the past decade, it is a shameful indictment of this Government's failure that children in 2010 continue to avail of primary education facilities of a 19th century standard. The Minister for Education and Science has been there. Many young pupils are forced to attend school in third world conditions. That is how bad it is.

Gurteen parish and the school's board of management are clearly willing to proceed with the construction of a new national school. Gurteen parish and Sligo County Council, under its chairman, Mr. Gerry Murray, have spent almost €90,000 on purchasing additional lands for the school site and constructing an access road for the school. Having personally viewed the site, the Minister will be aware of its suitability and familiar with the work and expenditure that have taken place at local level to provide a site. He will appreciate that the site is highly favourable in terms of its proximity to ESB, water, sewerage and ancillary services. The Department of Education and Science has the ball at its feet with regard to this project. The site is in place and the need for this project has clearly been established. Funding is required so the children of Carn national school can have access to a fair and equitable primary education in conditions that are acceptable to teachers, parents and pupils. It is no more than any child deserves. In light of the totally unacceptable conditions at the school and the increase in pupil numbers, it is essential for the Minister to give this project the highest level of priority.

I call on the Minister of State, Deputy Curran, to state when funding will be provided for a new building at Carn national school. I hope he will indicate a timeframe for the construction of this building, which is needed as a matter of the utmost urgency and in the interests of the health and safety of pupils and teachers. I am delighted that the Minister of State is here to deal with this situation. During my 13 years as a Member of this House, I have been all over my constituency and the region. This school is the worst I have ever seen. It is an appalling indictment of the Government that in this day and age, 90 children attend a school that has not received any funding since the 19th century. If a health and safety audit were to be carried out on the school, it would be closed. It is an accident waiting to happen. I have a high regard for the good job that the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, does in his portfolio. I sincerely hope the Minister of State will give us good news, or some ray of hope, this evening. When will the commitment of the teachers and the community of Gorteen be rewarded?

John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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I am happy to respond on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, who cannot be present, unfortunately. I thank Deputy Perry for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to outline to the Dáil the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and the current position in respect of Carn national school, Gurteen, Ballymote, County Sligo. As the Deputy will be aware, all applications for capital funding are assessed in the planning and building unit of the Department. The assessment process determines the extent and type of need presenting, based on the demographics of an area, proposed housing developments, condition of buildings, site capacity, etc. It ultimately leads to an appropriate accommodation solution. As part of this process, a project is assigned a band rating under published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. The criteria were devised following consultation with the education partners. Projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need. This is reflected in the band rating assigned to a project. In other words, a proposed building project moves through the system commensurate with the band rating assigned to it. There are four band ratings overall, of which band 1 is the highest and band 4 the lowest. Band 1 projects, for example, include the provision of buildings where none currently exists but there is a high demand for pupil places while a band 4 project makes provision for desirable but not necessarily urgent or essential facilities. Each band rating has a number of sub-categories that more specifically describe the type of works needed and the urgency attaching to them.

The school to which Deputy Perry refers has a current staffing level of a principal and two mainstream teachers. The school also has the services of one learning support resource teacher. In 2009, the school had 66 pupils, which represents a 16% increase in enrolments in the past five years. The board of management of Carn national school applied for a new school in 2006. The application for major capital funding was assessed and assigned a band 2 rating. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, met a delegation from the school in late 2008 and undertook to review the band rating. In that context, a re-examination of the banding was recently conducted. However, the proposed project at Carn national school remains at a band 2 rating under the published prioritisation criteria for large scale projects available on the Department's website.

In December 2009, the Department contacted the school regarding the proposed site for the new school. Clarification was sought on site ownership, size and issues concerning title deeds and access. The school authorities responded, clarifying the site issues. The next step in the process will be a site visit. The Department's technical staff have been requested to schedule a site suitability assessment.

The Department has operated a summer works scheme for the past six years, which gives schools an opportunity to address issues such as upgrading electrical and mechanical elements, window replacement, roof replacement, toilet upgrade, disabled facilities, upgrade to play facilities, etc. Carn national school has only this year made an application for works under the summer works scheme. The application identified window replacement as the priority. Following an assessment process, projects will be selected for funding from all valid and approved applications on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria published with the scheme. The timetable for the summer works scheme 2010 has also been published as part of the governing circular letter for the scheme. This circular letter is available on the Department's website. In accordance with the timetable, it is my intention to publish a list of successful summer works scheme applicants in March.

Modernising facilities in our existing building stock as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth is a significant challenge. The Government has shown a consistent determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure that appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. However, the level of demand on the school building programme is such that all projects cannot be carried out together. They will have to be carried out over time in a structured and coherent manner and this is the reasoning behind the Department's published prioritisation criteria. The project for Carn national school will be carried out consistent with this approach. I thank Deputy Perry for raising the matter and I assure him the Minister is committed to advancing the project for Carn national school.