Michael McCarthy (Labour)
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I wish to share my time with Senator O'Toole.

Rory Kiely (Fianna Fail)
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Is that agreed? Agreed.

Michael McCarthy (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister and thank her for taking this Adjournment matter. I also thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this important issue on the Adjournment. Essentially, it relates to Scoil Phádraig Naofa, St. Patrick's boys national school in Dunmanway, County Cork. There is a plan to extend the school to include a hall, a computer room, a resource teaching room, a storeroom and a staffroom. However, in the short term, in 2002 the school was given a commitment that a Portakabin for resource teaching would be on the agenda. It received documentation from the Department to proceed to a stage where it could employ an architect-designer, engage in the planning process, obtain planning permission and obtain a fire certificate. The Department also advised it to comply with the regulations that it should stay within the specified criteria and that it should invite at least three tenders for the Portakabin.

I do not need to tell the Minister, either as Minister for Education and Science or as a former teacher, of the importance of resource teaching in the school. The fact that it currently takes place in the staff room is inappropriate and is unhelpful to the development of the children. Given that teachers do an important job in difficult circumstances, it is not good enough.

There was a change of principal in the school and the new principal pursued this issue but was informed that the school would be obliged to re-apply. The school authorities re-applied and were then told that no funding was available. In other words, a situation arose where the Department had advised the school to proceed to planning stage but after the change in personnel at the helm of the school, it was told that funding was no longer available. Mindful of the fact that Senator O'Toole will also make a contribution, I appeal to the Minister to examine this worthy request from Scoil Phádraig Naofa for a Portakabin for resource teaching. That is the board of management's primary objective. I have met the teaching staff and parents in respect of this case and I appeal to the Minister to show her better nature and grant the funding for the resource teaching Portakabin.

Joe O'Toole (Independent)
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I also welcome the Minister and thank Senator McCarthy for providing me with the opportunity to say a few words on this issue. I know this school well and have visited it many times. In an earlier age, it gave Sam Maguire to the world. More recently, Senator McCarthy and I today received a note from the school's principal, Miss Burke, asking how she could explain to the parents and teachers that their school can be deprived of a classroom at a time when apparently the Minister does not spend all the money allocated to her Department.

I am aware that the Minister receives such requests all the time but this is a school with a strong local community which is determined to make progress. The parents and teachers are trying to do their best for the school and are trying to create the space for a resource teacher at a reasonable level. At one point, the Department told the school that it would receive a Portakabin. It was refused and subsequently the school authorities were informed — this is heartbreaking — that they had no sense and should have applied for an ordinary classroom in the first place as if they had done so, they might have been offered a Portakabin.

The Minister and I have discussed this kind of event — which is unhelpful and difficult — many times on an informal basis. I do not know what to tell teachers in that situation. Senator McCarthy and I have discussed the issue, but how does one explain it in this day and age? This is not a large request and I ask the Minister to be generous and give it her best shot.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senators McCarthy and O'Toole for raising this issue. I imagine that Senator O'Toole is more aware than Senator McCarthy of the pressures regarding capital expenditure. At the outset, I should point out that there has been no underspend in respect of capital expenditure. Any underspending took place on the current side and may have been an overestimation in respect of teachers' salaries and pensions to those who might have taken pensions but did not because they were waiting for benchmarking awards, etc. Any capital underspend from last year was carried forward to this year as part of the sum of €50 million. It is wrong to attempt to link two totally different matters to each other. It is also important to state that——

Joe O'Toole (Independent)
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This is how people read the situation. That is the request which we received today without any discussion.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I am sure Senator O'Toole will go to great pains to point out to them that there has been no underspend in capital expenditure, that the Department carried forward €50 million into this year and that this year alone, €270 million will be allocated to primary schools and €223 million to post-primary schools——

Joe O'Toole (Independent)
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I will convey the Minister's full reply.

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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——which is an increase of 14% on the 2004 allocation. The Members will be aware that I have made a number of different announcements regarding buildings. They include the following: 141 major building projects which are already on site and a further 28 due to commence in the coming weeks; a total of 122 major school building projects which will prepare tenders and move to construction this year; and a total of 192 primary schools which have been invited to take part in the small and rural schools initiative and the devolved scheme for providing additional accommodation. Up to 120 schools have been given approval to rent temporary premises pending delivery of a permanent solution to their long-term accommodation needs and 43 schools have been authorised to start architectural planning of their major projects. A total of 590 schools were given approval for small scale projects under the summer works scheme and I hope to announce more tomorrow. A total of 124 schools have been approved to move through the architectural planning process with immediate effect. Undoubtedly, the schools building and modernisation programme has seen both an increase in overall funding and major improvements in the administration of funding.

However, another announcement, which does not refer to school buildings but which has had a direct impact on schools such as St. Patrick's boys school, is the announcement of 660 extra teachers to deal with special needs and resource teaching. The easy thing to do would have been to decide not to supply the teaching resources until the buildings were ready. Unfortunately perhaps, children needed to receive the teaching allocation. Consequently, I have provided the teachers even though the Department is aware that there are schools and circumstances where they do not have bright new classrooms. Surely it was more important to put the resource teaching and special needs teachers in place so that the educational needs of the children could be met. This is what has happened in some schools. While some schools are attempting to find space for those teachers, they would prefer to have the teachers rather than empty buildings.

St. Patrick's school is one such school. This school, with 90 pupils, has a principal, three mainstream teachers and a permanently-based resource teacher. Enrolments have decreased slightly from 112 to 90 pupils but I can understand that the school authorities would like to have space for the resource teacher. However, every school in the country will face that pressure. One in five primary schoolteachers now deals with special needs. These are all extra requirements, not only in our schools but also as a pressure on our building programme. My priority was to put the people in place in order to meet the children's needs and to allow the schools be as flexible as possible in providing the space. We will get around to providing the space requirements as well.

As far as applications for temporary accommodation were concerned, many of them pertained to special needs, but the Department was obliged to give priority to classrooms. Temporary accommodation was needed for developing schools where classes were needed. Hence, it was not possible to approve all the applications received. However, I am conscious of the fact that because of the extra resources put into special needs, the extra teachers appointed and the additional posts going into disadvantaged schools, more pressure will be put on space in many schools. For that reason, we must consider the school in the context of the school building and modernisation fund for next year.