Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Perhaps he has not been to the promised land of Carlow as often as he should but if he goes to Old Leighlin, he will see a fantastic community hall based in a magnificent old cathedral in the middle of a small, rural parish. It is one of the best examples of a community hall in the entire country and it was built by local people. It has excellent basketball courts and other facilities and demonstrates the positive outlook of the local community.

Old Leighlin national school has submitted applications to the Department of Education and Science under the permanent accommodation scheme 2007 and for grant aid for major works. In 2002 the school was granted funding for a new classroom under the devolved scheme the Department was piloting at the time. Thankfully the school now needs another teacher and will require accommodation for the new class in September 2007, hence the application under the permanent accommodation scheme.

The second application is the most pressing in terms of addressing the current needs of the school. It has grown from an enrolment of 73 pupils in 2001 to 116 this year and current projections suggest this figure will increase. The school is situated a mile from the village of Old Leighlin on an isolated site and it is vital it be given accommodation to implement the physical education curriculum and to organise whole school activities. Staff and students are at a disadvantage when implementing the music, drama and PE curricula.

I referred to the spectacular community hall but it is too far away to take the children on a regular basis. The school community is supportive and progressive and I hope the Minister of State can give me some good news tonight about this application.