Shane Curley (Fianna Fail)

On Tuesday, I raised an issue on the Order of Business and, on the advice of the Leader, submitted a Commencement matter. The issue relates to Carrabane National School just outside Loughrea, County Galway. I was strong in mentioning that this is a 20-year debacle that is not the doing of the Minister of State or the Minister, Deputy McEntee. It is something they have inherited, but it urgently needs to be addressed.

A few years ago, Carrabane National School got approval for construction but the builder pulled out and the planning permission lapsed. The school had to go back to the drawing board as regards all the preliminary designs. It got as far as 2B and submitted again. As it already did a tendering process, it is entitled to appoint the next available tender but needs approval from the Minister straight away.

I know there is a school capital programme in the pipeline. I would appreciate it if Carrabane National School was included and I urge its inclusion. I visited the principal on Monday. The man is under severe stress. Not only is the school completely not fit for purpose, there are multiple classrooms in prefabs because the floor has fallen through. The roof of one of the classrooms fell in during the summer. Thank God no kids were in the classroom at the time.

Schools are also facing other issues, including the cost of heating these prefabs when the capitation grant is only €224 per student at primary school level. That is out of sync with our second level schools. The school is under severe pressure. I would appreciate it if we could help it at this stage by intervening and ensuring it is on the school capital programme when it is introduced.