John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to the House again. The matter I wish to discuss today centres on St. Brigid's secondary school, Goresbridge, County Kilkenny. Notice was received by the board of management of the school recently that it is the intention of the Department of Education and Science to phase out education at St. Brigid's over the course of the next two years.

I was present at a local public meeting on the issue on Tuesday evening. Parents, pupils, past pupils and parents of past pupils gathered in the town of Goresbridge to voice their concern at the prospect of the closure of the school. It must be acknowledged that the school is considered small by most standards. While there are only about 140 pupils on the roll, the numbers have remained pretty constant over the years and it seems they will continue at the current level for the foreseeable future. A constant problem for the school is the continuous bussing of children from its immediate area to other schools in Kilkenny city, Graiguenamanagh in County Kilkenny, Bagenalstown in Carlow, Borris in Carlow. A number of school buses operate to take people from St. Brigid's catchment area which does not benefit its enrolment numbers.

There has been very little funding over the past number of years to upgrade the facilities within the school which is housed in a former convent the structure of which is quite old. We have not seen continuous maintenance of the school's buildings to keep them reasonably safe for school occupancy. Parents feel there has been a constant downgrading of the school and a lack of attention from the Department which is culminating now in the decision to cease education in St. Brigid's College, Goresbridge. It is a co-educational school and the only one in the town which is why people are genuinely and reasonably concerned to ensure that the facility should be kept open. A school is an important facility for any small rural town like Goresbridge and it is with that in mind that I raise this matter on the Adjournment.

I do not wish to pre-empt the Minister of State's reply, but the constant problem for Goresbridge has been the erosion by other schools of the base of pupils in the catchment area. That has led to the current low number on the school's roll. While it may not be deliberate, the Department of Education and Science is partially responsible for the downgrading of the school and the dwindling numbers attending it. I am very interested to hear what the Minister of State has to say in reply.