Marie Sherlock (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. I understand the Minister for Education is at the Cabinet. The issue I raise relates to the review of the after-hours use of school buildings. We understand the review is under way and this is most welcome. My questions are about the process of consultation on this review. Who will be consulted? Will the communities where these schools are located be given a say? When will the review be completed? When can we hope to have a stronger and more comprehensive set of guidelines in place from the Department to schools?

We are all aware of great examples where schools have taken the decision to open up their buildings in the afternoons and evenings, at weekends and during holiday periods to local communities for sports, clubs, youth work, adult education and indeed preschool and after-school care. We are also aware of far too many cases where, for whatever reason, school boards have decided they do not need, want or have to open. What is the Department going to do to ensure we better utilise what is in many instances publicly funded infrastructure? Across the vast majority of schools in Ireland we have a network of private patronage that is effectively publicly funded for day-to-day expenses. We will not get into the shortfall for schools' day-to-day expenses. In the main these schools are publicly funded. When the State has invested in a school building, is it acceptable that the Department and the State take a hands-off approach with regard to its out-of-hours use? In the 2017 Department guidelines on out-of-hours use, it is very evident that there is a hands-off approach by the Department. Of course these issues are sensitive but we should not shy away from them. This is not about balancing priorities between schools and communities. The priorities are exactly the same. The number one priority is the education of the pupils, the teachers and the school community.When a school empties out those same families, teachers and communities should still be able to use the building in some way. I have a particular local interest in this. A number of weeks ago the Minister, Deputy Foley, met a number of us with regard to a parish hall located in Drumcondra. It is the Corpus Christi parish hall on the Home Farm Road in Drumcondra. For decades, the girls' school there used this parish hall for assembly and other activities alongside general community use of the hall. The hall has been closed for almost three years, depriving the girls of indoor PE activities and assembly use. We have had the wonderful news that the Archdiocese of Dublin is planning to vest the parish hall in the school. I do not want to comment on the particulars of the negotiation on the precise use of the hall. However, I do want to reflect that there is a clear desire and demand on the part of the local community that when the needs of the school are met with regard to the hall it is also important to consider the needs of the community. The community has used the hall for many decades. We have a clear set of guidelines from the Department on out-of-hours community use of schools. We need a clear message sent out that schools should be doing more for their local communities and that they can play an even more fruitful role in their communities in terms of the use of school buildings.