Dáil debates

Thursday, 3 May 2012

Topical Issue Debate

School Accommodation

3:00 pm

Photo of Pat BreenPat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for affording me an opportunity to raise this issue. While I do not raise many matters in Topical Issue debates, this is an issue that is close to my heart. Having visited Scoil Mhuire national school in Meelick, County Clare, I can only describe the conditions I saw at the school as absolutely appalling. It is difficult to understand how the previous Government ignored the school and allowed conditions to deteriorate to such an extent, especially during the Celtic tiger period when the country was awash with money. Every area of the school building and its environs is in need of urgent attention. Running repairs are no longer sufficient to deal with the scale of the problems at the school and maintenance is costing the board of management a fortune.

It is difficult to keep up with the number of water leaks at the school, especially from roofs in the prefabricated buildings. I saw buckets and basins in several classrooms and there is a major concern that the leaks pose a fire hazard given that water penetrated the fluorescent bulb fixtures in ceilings on a number of occasions. Water has also caused structural damage to ceilings in the school's prefabricated buildings. The ceilings and foundations of these buildings need to be replaced.

The school has little ventilation because windows cannot be opened as their frames are swollen. This lack of ventilation gives rise to significant safety concerns and is not good for the health of the children or teachers. The main doorframe is unsteady and poses a health and safety risk. All the windows and doors need to be replaced.

Mould is visible on the walls of several classrooms and washrooms, the sewage system is not working properly and there is a foul smell in the toilets where the roof is leaking. There is also water on the floor and junior and senior infants do not have access to hot water in their classrooms which also have leaks in the ceilings. The permanent odour of damp in the school is a matter of serious concern to the school and parents as a number of children suffer from asthma and other respiratory related illnesses.

When I walked into the yard I noticed a number of structural problems with the school building. I observed, for example, that a number of roof slates were missing and several more were loose. The school yard surface is cracked, eroded and uneven and several potholes are visible. Manholes are rusted, dangerous and overflowing. The gradient in one part of the play area is so bad that teachers must constantly monitor the children to avoid serious injury.

Teachers are not to blame for conditions at the school and have done their best. The problem is that the school is old, having been built in 1959 in what was then a small locality. The school is located in the Stonepark area near the church. In the 1980s, many housing estates sprung up on the other side of the parish in the Ballycannon area and the population of the village increased. This also boosted the school population and the school now has eight teachers and 150 pupils, with a further 23 children due to enrol in September.

I visited a number of schools in County Clare in recent months and the conditions in Meelick school were the worst I saw. Stop gap measures or sticking plaster solutions are not sufficient to deal with the enormous problem in the school itself. Remedial works are carried out by the school on an ongoing basis, but the scale of the problem is beyond the ability of the school authority to maintain or fund.

Can the Minister of State give me an update on the situation? The school has applied for emergency funding, because it poses a health and safety risk. A risk assessment has been carried out by a qualified consultant, who has confirmed that the works are urgently required so that the school and its grounds can be made safe for the children and parents who use it.

Photo of Ciarán CannonCiarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I am taking this topical issue debate on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, as it gives me an opportunity to outline to the House my Department's position regarding the allocation of funding under the Department's emergency works scheme and, in particular, the applications received from the management authority of Scoil Mhuire national school, Meelick, County Clare. Application forms and guidelines for this scheme are available on my Department's website advising schools on how to apply for emergency funding, and also outlining the terms and conditions of the emergency works scheme.

The purpose of the emergency works scheme is solely for unforeseen emergencies or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for special needs pupils. An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to the health, life, property or the environment which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening. It is not intended that the emergency works scheme will be used to supplement previous applications under other schemes or to replace any other schemes provided by my Department.

The management authority of Scoil Mhuire national school, Meelick, County Clare, has submitted two applications under the emergency works scheme. The first of these was received on 8 July 2011, seeking funding to refurbish pupil and staff toilets in the school, and this was refused as it was outside the scope of the scheme. The second application was received on 18 February 2012, seeking funding to replace the roofs on both the permanent school building and the prefabricated building on the school site, completely resurface the hard play areas and carry out remedial works to sewer and surface water lines at the school.

On 1 March 2012, an official from my Department's planning and building unit contacted both the school authority and its consultant and informed them that the scale of the works was outside the scope of the scheme. The school authority was requested to identify the most urgent works required at the school and to reapply for these works in a scaled down scope of works, that is, to carry out repair work to the areas of roofs currently leaking and to identify the emergency works required to the sewerage system. Any such application will be given due consideration.

The school authority submitted a revised scope of works on 8 March 2012, but as the works requested for funding were still outside the type of works that would be funded under the emergency works scheme, the school authority was again informed that its application was not successful.

Photo of Pat BreenPat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House to take this issue, but I am still not satisfied with the answer I am getting today. Perhaps the Minister of State might chase up the history of previous applications. If it is outside the scope of the scheme, I fail to understand the problem. As far as I am concerned, every part of the school requires urgent attention. What happens if there is a fire in the school in the morning and windows cannot be opened? It is just awful. I am not just saying this to try to influence the Minister of State, but it is urgent and there are safety fears here.

Can the school management apply for another scheme to deal with these ongoing problems? There are structural problems, electrical problems, problems with the roof, dampness and mould. Very little money has been spent on permanent structures in this school. It is an old type of school, built back in 1959. Many other schools in the area have improved, but this school has been left behind and I am extremely worried for the children, the teachers and the parents, who are also concerned about these issues.

I ask the Minister of State to come back to me on this. Perhaps he could visit the school in his capacity as Minister of State. It needs urgent attention. He might let me know where the school is in the Department's building programme for the construction of permanent structures or improvements. If the school is outside this scheme, what other scheme can it apply for?

Photo of Ciarán CannonCiarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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On 1 March, an official from the building unit contacted the school and the school was requested to identify the most urgent works required and to apply for those works in a scaled down scope, to carry out works to the parts of roofs that are currently leaking and identify the issues raised by the Deputy in respect of the sewerage system. The building unit officials have told me that they are prepared to consider any application for funding that will address the most urgent needs of Scoil Mhuire national school. I think it is incumbent upon the board of management to identify the most urgent needs and if it succeeds in doing that and makes a submission to the building unit, such a submission may be looked on in a favourable light.