Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for attending to take this matter. I hope he will be able to tell me that he will put children first in terms of the Children First guidelines and the safety of children. The matter I raise concerns the Firhouse Educate Together national school and the premises in which it is located. The school is located in temporary, unsuitable accommodation which was originally built to be a community centre, not a school. The school is housed upstairs. The parents, teachers and local community are all very anxious about the unsuitability of the current premises for it.

Firhouse Educate Together national school is a very good one. The education provided and teachers are excellent, but the premises leaves a great deal to be desired, to put it mildly. It is absolutely unsuitable. If a safety analysis was to be conducted, it would not pass. The stairs are very steep and there is no wheelchair access. There is dual usage of the community centre and crowding at times when children are moving from one place to another. It is a serious issue.

The Department of Education and Skills is responsible for the safety of children, which is an issue in the school. When the school was accommodated in the premises, the Department stated initially, in September 2013, that it would be for four months. That stretched to six months and then eight. There is overcrowding in the staff room which is shared with learning support staff and when I visited the school, there was a child there who required special support. It is totally unsuitable. There is one toilet which is used by the public also. The community centre and the people in it are fine, but the community is being discommoded by having an educational establishment where there was never meant to be one. The community is very understanding and welcoming of the school, but it was to be temporary. It has been based there too long and, as time passes, is not viable.

The school had intended to grow. Owing to its good name, it had sufficient children enrolled to secure another teacher next year, but now parents are starting to look at the long-term position and wonder where their children will be if the school does not have a permanent location very soon. Some are beginning to look at other schools, even schools outside the area, if they wish to have their children attend an Educate Together school. If the school is to be viable, it must receive immediate assistance.

I asked the Minister for Education and Skills about this issue last November. In the south Dublin local area plan two sites were designated for education in the Firhouse area. The sites are available. I do not know if they are suitable or whether they are for the Educate Together national school, but perhaps the Minister of State might comment or offer some certainty on where the school will be located next September. Obviously, it cannot continue where it is located at present and operating in very difficult circumstances for the students, staff and parents. The safety issues must also be taken into consideration. The Minister must immediately find suitable accommodation for the school.