Dáil debates
Thursday, 11 October 2018
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Schools Building Projects Status
4:45 pm
Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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It is a hard act to follow. The unsuitable accommodation in the school has been well-flagged with the Minister and his Department. It is ironic that in the aftermath of Storm Ali conditions deteriorated further. The issue was raised in the Seanad yet here we are a few weeks later on the eve of Storm Callum. Parents and pupils are wondering if they will have a school to go into at all because 58% of the school, which accommodates hundreds of students, 30 teachers and six SNAs, is housed in 20-year-old crumbling prefab buildings, four of which had to be evacuated in the last storm. These buildings are beyond repair. There are holes and gaps in the roof, fallen gutters and exposed electrical wires. It is beyond belief that children are sitting with coats on and cannot get warm in the winter and are too hot in the summer. There needs to be action. The report on the technical site visit that was made is supposed to be in its final stages. We have not been given a clear indication of what will be done. They need their new premises.
Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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It is freezing cold in the prefabs. Parents are concerned that the coming storm will do away with the prefabs altogether. That might not necessarily be a bad thing. They leak when it rains and they are impossible to heat because the electrics are overloaded. The parents dread sending their kids to school if they think it is going to be cold because their kids' teeth will be chattering during the day. Over 50% of the school's children are accommodated in prefabs that were put in as a temporary measure in 2000. I am inundated, as I am sure my constituency colleagues are, with requests from parents. The result of the technical review have not been made known to the school. It is still waiting on it. Another storm is approaching and parents are fearful about sending their children to the school, which is the only school they can attend in Balbriggan. It is a place where the population is growing. It is an issue that needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency.
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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I visited the school on a number of occasions. All our colleagues know the school. Since 2003, the Department has spent €1.16 million on prefabs. We would have a new school built with that. The school is unhealthy and unsafe for the kids. My colleagues have mentioned the technical assessments. The technical assessment was carried out in February. I submitted another parliamentary question to the Minister in September. The reply stated that a technical site visit was carried out. We know that. It happened in February. The parents and the principal, Pauline Costello, and her team are losing patience. They are exasperated by this. We need to get a resolution. It is a cross-party issue as well as an issue for those of no party. Representatives from the Dublin Fingal constituency want a proper school facility for the kids and the staff of St. Mologa's. It needs to be fast-tracked. I hope the Minister can give the commitment to us today that after all this time waiting - some of the prefabs have been there for 19 years - we can move ahead with a proper permanent building.
Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy O'Reilly for submitting the Topical Issue matter in my absence last week. I appreciate my constituency colleagues facilitating me. I echo the sentiments of my colleagues. I found myself thinking about what I was going to say. I have been in Third World schools and they are of a better standard than the prefabs in St. Mologa's. It is essential that the fast-track process for the school is completed and that we can somehow manage to get a plan. If we have to copy and paste it, let us copy and paste it. There are so many school extensions or permanent prefab replacement programmes across the State, which we have spearheaded over the last seven years, that I am sure it would be possible in this instance to complete it. The weather forecast for this evening is very windy with strong to gale force winds with severe gusts. The school is in a coastal location. It is in an orange alert zone. The Department has issued warnings to those schools to be vigilant. As Deputies Clare Daly and O'Reilly said, I am pretty sure the parents' concerns are justified in worrying about whether those prefabs will be there in the morning.
Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputies for raising the issue. I understand the concern. It has also been raised by Senator James Reilly. There is acute concern. The Deputies are right there was a visit by the Department to the school in February. That was followed up by a technical site visit in April. The agreement has been worked out on the exact scale of what is required, namely, an 18 primary classroom and two ASD classroom unit. The work has been ongoing in doing the masterplanning of the site, which I understand is complex. The purpose of the building project is to provide additional accommodation as well as the replacement of the current temporary accommodation. The development of the project brief must have regard to the continuance of the existing school while construction is under way. Due to complexities of the school's existing site, issues to be considered in the development of the project brief included identifying the preferred location of the buildings having regard to the challenging site, decanting considerations and construction traffic access. The project brief is expected to be completed by the end of next week, having regard to the complex technical assessment process involved. The Department will be in contact with the school with regard to the next steps. The completion of the project brief will facilitate progression of the project into the architectural planning process, which includes the appointment of a design team. It is in a position to move forward. The project brief will be completed at the end of next week and it will then move into the architectural planning phase. I am acutely aware that the school suffered damage to three of the old-stock prefabs due to adverse weather conditions. Repair works were being carried out on those. In addition, my Department gave approval for additional temporary accommodation, pending the delivery of the major project. That included two mainstream classrooms and one special education teaching space. Clearly the priority now is to get the permanent project under way. I assure Deputies the Department will endeavour to have that proceeded with as rapidly as possible.
Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent)
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Obviously, the Minister has a different definition of the word "rapid" from anyone else. One can talk about the site being complex and requiring a careful master plan but the site has not changed. It is the same site. The school was opened in 1987 when Balbriggan had a population of 5,000. It now has a population of 22,000. We are the ones telling the Minister that they need a permanent site. For us to be told it is complicated and we need to look at it is really not good enough. It could be the case that after the storm tonight the school may not even be there and that the inadequate situation they are in, which is appalling, might not even be there to be dealt with. We need the plan yesterday and unfortunately I do not think the Minister's answers are adequate.
Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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The Minister's answer is not good enough. Deputy Clare Daly is right. There is a really strong possibility, given the poor weather that is forecast, that parts of the school will be unusable. The prefabs are practically uninhabitable as it is. I do not think the Minister has any words of comfort to give to the parents other than they must wait.
Telling the parents, the teachers and the principal, Ms Costello, that they must wait is not good enough. They are in intolerable conditions but all the Minister has said is that those intolerable conditions are set to continue. A plan must be put in place because we could be dealing with a serious situation. Some 52% of the children are in those prefabricated buildings, which are already uninhabitable.
4:55 pm
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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Like my colleagues, I am disappointed with the response. The Minister has stated the technical assessment process will be completed by the end of next week but I wonder if that answer was given because the matter was raised here today. This concerns all of us, party politics and affiliations aside. I do not know whether the Minister has visited the school but if not, I invite him to come with us to look at the school. There are other schools in north Dublin that require attention, but this school and Hedgestown national school are in desperate condition. The response is completely inadequate and I ask the Minister to redouble his efforts and tell his officials this matter must be fast-tracked because his response gives no comfort to anyone.
Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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I have some photographs that the principal was kind enough to send to all the Members. We are frequently tweeted at about this by people. On the last occasion, during Storm Ali, the roof almost completely came off, the skylights fell in and the classrooms had to be abandoned. The storm this evening and tomorrow has potential to cause significant damage to these 18-year-old prefabricated buildings.
When I was elected in 2011, I remember we replaced the prefabricated buildings in Scoil an Duinnínigh in Kinsealy, which had been in prefabricated buildings for 24 years. Successive Governments had failed the community.
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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That is not correct.
Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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I would hate to think this school would be left any longer. It is not acceptable any more.
Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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While I understand the Deputies' concerns, the project brief is an important phase in any construction project. There is no way to avoid appointing a design team. A design will have to be drawn up and planning permission must be obtained, which has its own process to go through. The Department will have to be satisfied the design achieves the objectives. We do not want to have any second-rate construction here and, therefore, the process must be completed. As I said, it involves construction of 12 new classrooms, two autism spectrum disorder, ASD, units, as well as refurbishment of existing accommodation.
This project is proceeding to the next stage. The Department seeks to minimise the delay in all those stages but it must be robust in each of the processes. We do not always control issues such as site conditions, planning delays and so on. While the Department will seek to push this project on as quickly as possible, I cannot give timelines or dates. I am sure the Deputies will understand these processes must be completed. To say the answer is not adequate ignores the fact that this is the way we do every school project. We must do it in a robust way but we will seek to complete each of those stages as rapidly as possible in view of the acute concern that the Deputies have expressed. I also acknowledge the concern of parents, principals and staff alike.