Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Ulick Burke for allowing me to share his time. I also thank the Minister of State for attending the House. This is an important project for a local college of mine. My eldest son was a student at Holy Rosary, which has been trying so hard to get a sports hall. The college even sought assistance from the Department to rent a premises, but that request was turned down. The college authorities have been seeking improvements for almost 40 years, as Senator Ulick Burke said.

On 8 February, agreement was reached to finalise stage 2 and we now want to move to stage 3. In his reply, I hope the Minister of State will say that we are moving on to stage 3 and that further progress can be made. This is a fairly big extension — I understand it could be over 2,000 sq. metres. It is not just a sports hall but will also include a music room, a religion room, guidance suite and a general purpose dining room. This major extension is urgently needed for classrooms, a sports hall and other purposes.

Like many rural schools, Holy Rosary College places great emphasis on sport. Yesterday, the Department of Education and Science announced the provision of €4,000 for every secondary school, while last year a sum of €2,000 was announced for physical education facilities for primary schools. The logical conclusion would be to provide the sports hall at Holy Rosary, Mountbellew. I hope the Minister of State's reply will signal that progress is forthcoming in that regard.

Holy Rosary College has a large enrolment which is heading for 500. Its long-term projected enrolment is for 550 pupils. A stand-alone physical education hall is vital and I am sure the Minister of State will confirm that it is included in the brief for the project. I imagine there will soon be a meeting to discuss stage 3. Perhaps the Minister of State will indicate when that meeting is to take place, so that all outstanding issues can be addressed between departmental officials, school staff and the board of management.

I thank the Minister of State for his interest in this project. I hope we can get modern buildings and facilities for this developing, rural school, which has a projected enrolment of 550 pupils.