Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)
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I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for allowing me raise this matter and the Minister of State for coming in to reply. I wish to share time with Senator Ulick Burke.

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

Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)
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With other public representatives, including Senator Ulick Burke, I attended a meeting last Monday in St. Catherine's Hall, Aughrim, Ballinasloe, County Galway, concerning St. Catherine's national school. The condition of the school, as outlined at the meeting, is appalling. The school which is 59 years old this year has an enrolment of 120 pupils. Parents and teachers say the school is a health and safety hazard.

A headline in the Connaught Tribune last week read, "School needs a Pied Piper to keep the mice at bay". That is one issue that is causing major concern. Other issues are weeping walls, inadequate ventilation and insulation, overused toilets and sewage coming up in the school yard. For that reason there is great concern that there is not a decision to have a new school in Aughrim.

If the original route of the new N6 motorway had come through Aughrim it would have necessitated demolishing the school. However the route was changed following which the Department said it would repair the school and offered €300,000 under the pilot scheme. That amount would not be adequate to provide what was needed in terms of additional classrooms.

What we need is a new school. I understand the Department will agree to an eight-teacher school. However, as the Department has not asked a technical team to visit the school I hope it will do so in the new few weeks. No decision will be made on progress until there is a visit from the technical team. It is not too much to ask that the technical team visits the school as soon as possible. I realise the Department officials in Tullamore are busy but conditions at this school are the worst any inspector has reported on recently.

Six years ago the school had an enrolment of 60 or 70 pupils. Since then many new houses have been built in Ballinasloe and south Roscommon and many new pupils have enrolled in the school. Little money has been spent by the Department on the school since it was built in 1948. As explained at the meeting, there is great difficulty in providing services for special needs children in the classrooms. The school has three classrooms, three Portakabins to accommodate five mainstream teachers. When I was teaching I never saw a school with such small over-crowded classrooms which is a health and safety hazard.

I hope the Minister of State can report progress on this school and that conditions will improve for students and teachers. A very active parents committee succeeded in getting 200 people into St. Catherine's hall last Monday to complain about the way in which the school has been neglected and the need for a resolution. I hope the Minister of State has some good news.

Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Kitt for sharing time. Nobody can emphasise sufficiently well the conditions at this school. On the issue of health and safety and the requirement for a standard school size, the school is one-third of the size of the school required.

Senator Kitt referred to special needs children. When we were shown a slide of a special needs student in a small classroom with 28 other children with special assistants as well as the class teacher we realised the total neglect and lack of concern by the Minister and the Department if they allow this situation to continue. There have been delays.

The history of planning in this project is unbelievable as are the Department's reasons for postponing, changing, and dillydallying. What has happened is on the record. None of the new aids and support materials available to schools for teaching can be used in St. Catherine's national school in Aughrim because there is no storage space. Teachers take them away and store them in their homes, garages or wherever. They cannot use them because of the inadequacy of space. There is one computer in a classroom and the students queue to access it. It is like queueing to get into Croke Park.

The request is for a new six to eight classroom school which the Minister will decide. There is the clear advantage in that there is a site on which to build the school. There should be no delay on that score. Building and construction could take place without any disruption. As Senator Kitt has done, I ask that immediate steps be taken to proceed with whatever other planning procedure has to take place in regard to the provision of a new school.

Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senators for raising the issue as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and the position regarding the development of education provision in St. Catherine's national school, Aughrim.

I apologise for the absence of the Minister, Deputy Hanafin.

Modernising facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post primary schools as well as responding to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth is a major priority for the Government. Since taking office, this Government has shown focused determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum.

St. Catherine's national school in Aughrim is a co-educational primary school. Enrolments at the school have increased from 90 in 2002 to 119 currently. The school was selected as one which appeared to be suitable for delivery of its building project under the permanent accommodation scheme 2005 and the school authority was offered funding of €300,000 to build two mainstream classrooms and two resource rooms. The school authority accepted this offer and proceeded with the planning of this project while, at the same time appealing the allocation under the scheme.

Subsequently, having considered its options under the scheme, the school authority notified the Department that it had decided to withdraw from the scheme and requested that it be considered for inclusion in the main programme for delivery by the traditional method, in line with the project's priority band rating.

Before progressing the project further and to ensure any capital funding being provided is appropriate to meet the school's long-term accommodation needs, it was necessary to review the long-term projected staffing figure on which the school's accommodation needs will be based.

Officials in the Department of Education and Science have just recently completed a re-assessment of projected enrolments and have determined that the long-term projected staffing for St. Catherine's national school, Aughrim will be for a principal plus eight mainstream teachers and this has been notified to the school authorities. The project will be progressed in the context of the school building and modernisation programme.

I thank the Senators once again for raising this matter and allowing me to outline the progress being made under the school building and modernisation programme and the position of St. Catherine's national school. I will bring to the attention of the Minister the views of both Senators regarding the technical team becoming actively involved in progressing the school.

Michael Kitt (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for confirming there will be a principal and eight mainstream teachers in the new school. I urge him to send the technical team to Aughrim in the next few weeks. We cannot wait any longer.