Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, who was present on the last occasion I raised a matter on the Adjournment. I achieved some success on that occasion and I thank him. I hope he will be able to deliver for me again on this occasion.

I seek a guarantee from the Minister of State that the school at Castaheany will be built and ready to accept pupils in September 2004. The people of Little Pace Paddocks were extremely disappointed that the school was not included in this year's building list. The people of the area have worked hard to get the school built. They live in a new area which has insufficient facilities to cater for their needs. These people have had to fight tooth and nail to get a temporary structure in place, but they fear it will become a permanent prefabricated school. That is not good enough for a growing area such as that to which I refer.

The school recently received new prefabricated classrooms which will be adequate until September 2004, after which time they will need three more classrooms. Each year there has been a huge increase in the numbers enrolling in the school. By 2004, they will need 14 classrooms and, by 2005, they will need 17 classrooms. It is essential that the Mary Mother of Hope national school in Little Pace Paddocks is given the necessary funding to start construction in March 2004. As I said, the people are disappointed that it will not begin in March of this year.

I ask that this school is made a priority because at present children are being housed in cramped conditions and they have no PE hall. There is no community centre in the area either. Such a centre will only be constructed when the school is built because a joint effort is being made by the Department of Education and Science and the local authority to provide it. In a very innovative development, the PE hall will also serve as a community centre. The school will not close down at 3 p.m., but will be available to the community. I hope the Minister of State will give me good news and will say the school will be ready and open by 2004.