Seanad debates

Thursday, 26 October 2017

Commencement Matters

Schools Building Projects Status

10:30 am

Photo of Lorraine Clifford LeeLorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

St. Molaga's national school in Balbriggan has 463 pupils. Balbriggan is the fastest growing town in Ireland and it has the youngest population in the State. Since 2000, the school has been accommodated in 16 prefabricated buildings because of its growing population. They were to have been a temporary solution, but 17 years later they are still there. Three extra classrooms are needed now, plus special education rooms. The drop in the pupil-teacher ratio as announced in the budget means that extra classrooms will be needed next year and in the following years. The projected enrolment will increase the need for more classrooms year on year. The feeder school is Sts. Peter and Paul junior school. The pupils there will go to St. Molaga's. They are not just names on a waiting list.

A total of 52% of the pupils are educated in prefabs, and 56% of the teaching staff work in prefabs. Those students and staff are isolated from the main building. They are too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. They walk to the main school building in all kinds of weather, which is not satisfactory. They cannot engage in interactive learning because the prefabs are too small for the kids to spread out on the ground. The windows in the prefabs are leaking which creates a fire hazard because there are electrical items plugged in there. It is very unsatisfactory. This school has been on the Department of Education and Skills major building works list for 2019-21 but it has not received any correspondence from the Department. At what stage is the planning process? Where will the building be and when will the first sod be turned? This is needed urgently in St. Molaga's. I would appreciate an update on that.

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