Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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I have tabled this question as I have long been an advocate of multiuse school buildings. I want to get an update from the Minister on a response I received from the Department on how to repurpose the design of buildings so they can be used in a safe way so we can educate schoolchildren and have a creche on one side, a meeting room for community events later and enough space for full-sized pitches that can be used during the day for organisations such as Cumann na mBunscoil and at night by the community. That is one aspect of the issue I raised.

Specifically, as I received a query from Holy Family Community School in Rathcoole, I submitted a parliamentary question asking the Minister for Education and Youth the reason hand dryers were not installed in the school. This relates to some of the design criteria with regard to their long-term cost savings and environmental benefits. The reply stated that the project brief for the major project at Holy Family Community School was to demolish the school and construct a three-storey 1,000 pupil building with a special educational needs unit and a PE hall. The Department's school design guide SDG 02-06 Sanitary Facilities states that the provision for hand-drying facilities shall be paper towels or cotton or linen towels and that electric hand dryers are not permitted. It states that the sanitary facilities should have adequate space for disposable hand towel dispensers and a refuse bin for the disposal of paper towels. I would like to know why, given the environmental benefits of hand driers. I know there have been suggestions that when machines are used in a high turnover environment, there is more risk of airborne infection but I would be grateful for a reply.

Given that we are talking about the Rathcoole and Saggart area - this is not for the Minister of State to comment on unless he so wishes but it is past midnight and I hope things have quietened down - I want to put on record my absolute disgust at what took place in Citywest tonight. I have been raising issues on behalf of residents who have genuine concerns about the purchase by the State of the Citywest Hotel complex and its long-term use, the lack of security, the lack of Garda numbers in the community, reports of people hanging around smoking and taking drugs in the vicinity of schools and all of the genuine concerns that ordinary decent residents have expressed. I am with them 100%.

There was a so-called peaceful protest organised tonight, which I am sure many of the locals thought was going to be peaceful. It turned into stones been thrown at gardaí, horses being ridden at gardaí, fireworks being shot at gardaí and the barriers being thrown at gardaí. Full credit is due to the members of An Garda Síochána for trying to keep the peace. The people purporting to be there in solidarity with the poor girl who was subject to the horrendous attack I referenced earlier today had no thoughts whatsoever for the many young children in the Citywest Hotel complex, who would have been scared for their lives with what went on. Anyone who is using an alleged but atrocious attack on a young child to further a hateful agenda needs to be condemned absolutely. This is to reiterate I have continued to support the residents in their genuine concerns. I wanted to put this on record because of what happened tonight. It was appalling. I ask the Minister of State to refer to the issue at hand on the policy regarding multiuse school buildings and hand dryers.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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I join Deputy Gogarty in condemning the actions tonight of those who engaged in thuggery. We are, and should be, as Deputy Gogarty rightly said, thinking about the young girl who was attacked. We send our best wishes to her. We also think of the member of An Garda Síochána who was attacked tonight in the line of duty. All of us who are balanced and fair people recognise there is no place in society for what happened tonight. I am conscious Deputy Gogarty has raised legitimate questions about the concerns of residents and I hope we can address them further.

I thank Deputy Gogarty for raising the matter regarding the Department of Education and Youth guidelines. I am taking this matter for the Minister for Education and Youth. It provides me with an opportunity to discuss the role of the Department's technical guidance documents and school design guidance documentation. To facilitate the design of new school buildings, the Department has developed a suite of technical guidance documents and school design guides, which provide guidance on a wide range of technical and building design-related issues for use by school authorities and design teams. These guidance documents have been in operation for a number of years and are continually reviewed and updated based on an ongoing policy of research, curriculum development and feedback.

School design guidance documents include a range of multiuse and flexible time spaces, including general purpose halls and internal and external multiuse physical education spaces. These spaces are also designed to allow for after-school community activities. As a former teacher and a former director of adult education, I concur with Deputy Gogarty that a school is best served by being able to have flexibility regarding after-school use also. At a school where I worked, I had the pleasure of being involved in the transition to a new school building as part of a public-private partnership. In saying this, I agree with the points raised by Deputy Gogarty on the use of space and buildings.

The design briefs for contemporary school building projects include social spaces and active circulation areas outside of the formal classroom settings that facilitate a more flexible and multi-purpose type of environment for collaborative learning and social interactions. These spaces contribute to the well-being of students and all of the school community. There are also a number of design layouts for specific school facilities such as for music, art, graphics, library and technology rooms, which offer a more flexible approach to creative learning. The guidance states that the architecture of the school should promote cross-disciplinary learning. The learning environment is a type of pedagogical tool as it subtly supports learning through textures, colours, materials and, most of all, the innovative use of space. In this way, the interiors can be regrouped and used flexibly for various purposes.

Regarding the specific query on hand-drying facilities in schools, paper, cotton or linen towel dispensers are classified as loose furniture and fittings and are not part of the construction contract for new school building projects. I was not aware of that until I read this reply earlier this evening. Some schools may choose to install electric air hand dryers. However, under current departmental guidance based on previous research and an assessment of a number of criteria, it is recommended that the provision of electric air hand dryers in schools be carefully considered on health, noise and energy consumption grounds. Electric hand dryers are not considered the most effective means for children in primary schools to dry their hands with regard to the removal of bacteria as young children will not spend sufficient time at the unit. The noise generated by dryers in toilet en suites within primary school classrooms can also be disruptive to the teaching and leaning environment. Also, in relation to universal accessibility, towel dispensers are easy to use with a single hand and by people with limited manual dexterity and reduced hand and arm movement. As with all areas of school design guidance, this will continue to be reviewed and considered in line with technological and regulatory developments.

I do not have a specific answer in relation to the Holy Family school in Rathcoole but I am happy to go back to the Department to get further information for the Deputy.

Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State. In relation to the situation at Citywest, I thank him for his comments. I want to add that residents who may have been in fear because of some incidents of antisocial behaviour in the community by a very small minority of residents at the IPAS centre are now in fear of rioters. Property was damaged tonight. Implements were taken out of people's gardens and used as weapons against gardaí. I thank the Minister of State for sharing my condemnation.

On the response to this Topical Issue, I would like to see more from the Department in terms of multi-use design. Often, the size of the pitches provided is not sufficient in the context of community provision. We saw that in the Clonburris SDZ, where we trying to build up apartments in order to leave space for one full-size GAA pitch, one rugby pitch and two soccer pitches. There is a model in Adamstown, where a community building was provided separately as a sports hall for Adamstown Community College, which is then used as a sports hall by the community at night time. I would love to see more of that.

I note the response in relation to primary schools and how electric dryers would not be considered the most effective means of hand-drying because young children will not spend sufficient time at the unit to ensure the removal of bacteria. That makes logical sense and I thank the Department for that response. However, in second level schools there should be a better level of hygiene awareness among the students. Perhaps we need a more blended model. There could be the option of towels but from an efficiency point of view, dryers are a more cost-effective option in the longer term. I hope a review could examine this, especially at second level.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South-Central, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy is right to raise the issue of residents in the area. There is fear, property has been damaged and public transport stopped. People have been discommoded and unable to get to and from work and home tonight. It is important that we send a strong message not just to those who have rioted but to the people who are affected and living in fear.

I have a huge amount of sympathy with the Deputy in regard to this Topical Issue. As a former director of education and teacher, what he is saying about community facilities and pitches makes absolute sense to me. I also agree with him on a blended approach at second level in particular. The Department has developed a suite of technical guidance documents and school design guides, which are continually reviewed. I hope, based upon our conversation tonight, they can be updated based on research, feedback and curriculum development. The Deputy's contribution tonight is part of that feedback. A range of multi-use and flexible spaces exists within schools, both internally and externally. These spaces are also designed for the after-school community. I must take a look at the Adamstown model but there are areas where we can improve and do better. The installation of electric dryers is a decision for individual schools but a blended approach, in second level in particular, is one that I hope the planning and building unit in the Department will take note of and provide technical advice to schools on. That blended model is the right approach, working to put our schools at the heart of our communities and further integrating them through community use of school facilities. Again, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter.