John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I raise this matter this morning after meeting Cara McAdam, who is a science teacher in De La Salle College, Dundalk, a couple of weeks ago. She showed me the science laboratory and the rest of the college. There are four laboratories, one of which is in a new part of the building. Two are in a building dating from 1978 while one of the laboratories was built in 1998. I am sure the Minister of State can agree that using science laboratories built in the 1970s and the late 1990s in 2023 is not acceptable.

There have been no upgrades to the laboratories during that time. They are very dated and in many regards are not fit for purpose. There is no safe working gas supply and no use of a fume cupboard in the chemistry laboratory. The laboratory built in 1998 is in a building with a chronic damp and mould problem. There is frequent flooding and infestations. There are about 700 pupils in the school, nearly all of whom are taking science. I saw for myself that the fume cupboard in the 1998 laboratory is positioned on the wall leading into the centre of the building, which is a violation of all health and safety standards. Fume cupboards should be on the edge of a building so that if there is an explosion, it goes outside rather than into the building. This clear violation of health and safety standards goes back to 1998.

The science laboratories are hugely outdated. We are encouraging many students at second level to look towards careers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, STEM, and science is a really important part of that. The students taking science in De La Salle College, Dundalk, are simply not getting bang for their buck. They are not getting the full proper science experience because their teachers are unable to teach them in adequate classrooms.

I accept that this school will have to apply for the summer works scheme, particularly in category 5, which is funding for science laboratories, and I know this process has started. Perhaps the Minister of State will be able to give me a bit more clarity on when that summer works scheme will open, when the category 5 scheme will open and when applications can be submitted.

This is a really good example of trying to modernise our classrooms across the country. It is really not fair that students are trying to learn in classrooms that are more than 40 years old. It is not fair that teachers trying to bring their students along and teach them in an important manner have to work in these conditions.

My reason for raising this matter on the floor of the House is because in 2023, students and teachers should not be operating out of classrooms that are 40 years old. Teachers should not have to operate in such a situation and the nearly 700 students taking science in De La Salle College, Dundalk, should not have to sit in classrooms with damp and mould infestations with equipment that does not work and where health and safety requirements are not met.I accept that the funding measures will be through category 5, so I am very keen to hear a bit more detail about that, including how the school will be able to apply for that funding and how we can get these four science laboratories upgraded as quickly as possible.