Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I did not expect my matter on the Adjournment to be heard at 2.10 a.m. I am also looking for the Minister of State to show a personal touch by addressing the needs of Scoil Mhuire, An Gharrán, Maree, Oranmore, roll No. 1809S. Given that it is willing to progress its urgent accommodation needs for four permanent classrooms to replace deteriorating prefabs in a way that would suit the Department of Education and Science, can the Minister of State advise which of the relevant schemes is preferable in this case? Is it to proceed with the major capital programme or should it transfer to the devolved scheme? Can he also advise on the timeframe for delivery of the preferred building option which he recommends?

I will give a little bit of background to the case. The principal told me recently that his aim was to replace the substandard buildings. He said he wanted to replace the sheds with permanent buildings. Maree national school has 208 pupils including my own children. With a devolved grant of €600,000 versus a cost of €2 million on the major capital programme, at any point Scoil Mhuire, An Gharrán, Maree, Oranmore can build the four permanent classrooms needed to meet the needs of its 208 pupils and a staff room for 16 staff - 11 teachers, one SNA and one secretary plus visiting teachers. This school has been let down since 1997. It is 12 years since its first application for a two-room extension and all it has acquired in the meantime is five prefabs.

There is a serious charge to be made against the Department of Education and Science in continuing with the five substandard prefabs for classes in the mid to high 20s. It is impossible to deliver the aims and objectives of the revised curriculum, an active discovery-based experiential learning curriculum which requires space for the children and the teachers to move. None of the prefabs is fit for more than 20 pupils, and yet all classes have numbers in the high 20s. Scoil Mhuire, An Gharrán has only three permanent classrooms that are capable of responding to the requirements of the revised curriculum, and yet all classes are expected to deliver on that goal. The Department must be responsible and accountable for what it is requiring of its teachers, if it is serious about the implementation of the revised curriculum. It is a contradiction, and unfair of the Department to ask teachers to deliver a curriculum and equally to have its inspectors inspect the outcomes of the revised curriculum, without providing an appropriate learning space in which to achieve it.

On the major capital programme, I understand Scoil Mhuire is at the design-team appointment stage. In December 2008, the principal met with the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, who indicated he would be willing to allow this school on to the devolved scheme. I ask the Minister of State to indicate which option is preferable in light of the school's current needs, and if it is the devolved scheme, whether the Department will allow easy transfer of Scoil Mhuire without any disadvantage to the school or without losing further time. I look forward to hearing what the Minister of State recommends, the exact status of this school's building programme and the timeframe for delivery for the four permanent classrooms and staff room.