Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, to the House. I appreciate her coming here in person to deal with this Adjournment matter.

I telephoned the Minister's Department before Christmas to find out about the school building programme and was told that it would be announced on Christmas week. That did not happen, and I telephoned again in January and was told that it would be announced next month. Then to my surprise and annoyance I saw in the newspaper in January that the Minister had announced part of the programme, a characteristic of the Minister for better or worse. Her predecessor, Deputy Noel Dempsey, appears to have had a more straightforward system whereby he would announce the school building programme once a year. One could clearly see from the departmental website where schools were and where new ones were to go. The current Minister has a different system in place that may have both advantages and disadvantages.

At the time the Minister stated that a further phase of funding would be announced in the next few months. I ask that she give serious consideration to Bennekerry national school. No secondary or primary school from Carlow or Kilkenny was included in the funding announced in January. Deputy McGuinness, whom I respect and admire as a local politician, issued a statement to the effect that no school in Carlow or Kilkenny was ready to be included, a contention that was not correct. Numerous schools at pre-architectural stage await a cheque from the Department so that they can begin building. Among that number I include Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál in Carlow town, which has just celebrated its first anniversary. When Deputy Woods was the Minister for Education and Science, he came to the school for its 40th anniversary and made an announcement in front of the parents and me that he would be giving them a new school building, with work beginning very shortly. Unfortunately, six years later nothing has happened.

I will return to today's subject matter. I myself attended Bennekerry national school, where my father was principal for 27 years. The school has three distinct sections, the first dating to the 1930s, the second to the 1960s, and the third to the 1980s. It must be radically overhauled and extended. The school is short of space and management hopes to reach an agreement with the local landowner to expand the playground and so on.

The school is growing rapidly. It is situated four miles outside Carlow town, where I know the Minister has relations, and she may be familiar with the area. The school is under serious pressure, and we have drawn up a new plan for Palatine Village, which sends children to the school. The village will be developing very rapidly in coming years. Carlow town has now expanded so far that the new estates on its outskirts are inthe Bennekerry catchment area, including Chapelstown Gate, and, of course, they all have children.

The school is therefore coming under increasing pressure, and those involved are waiting for work to begin. There was a slight problem when the autism school in Carlow was to be linked with Bennekerry national school. For various reasons that did not work out and it delayed matters. I do not believe there was any bad faith on the part of the Department at the time, but a former inspector was trying to do a two-in-one job that unfortunately did not work out.

I ask that Bennekerry national school be included in approval for the next phase of funding for the school building programme. Those involved have been waiting for many years, and in fairness to the staff and students, they deserve better facilities than they currently enjoy.