Seanad debates
Thursday, 26 November 2009
County Galway School Closure
2:00 pm
Ciarán Cannon (Fine Gael)
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I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, is more than familiar with this ongoing saga. He probably has an in-depth knowledge of the issues involved at this stage.
Seamount College in Kinvara is one of the finest second level institutions in the country. The community of Kinvara and south Galway was traumatised almost two years ago when the announcement was made by the Sisters of Mercy that they would no longer be able to continue to provide a second level education in the facility. In April the Minister of State indicated that there were ongoing discussions between the Department of Education and Science and the Sisters of Mercy and the trustees of the facility to secure a lease arrangement to allow a second level education â I hope, co-educational â to continue to be provided at Seamount College until such time as a new facility could be built to serve both Kinvara and a substantial area of south Galway. At the time the Minister of State indicated that officials within the Department were awaiting further documentation from the Sisters of Mercy and the trustees which was expected soon. He also indicated that once the documentation was received, departmental officials would then have to engage with the Chief State Solicitor to commence a legal process with a view to ensuring the lease would take effect immediately after the closure of the existing school. As we edge ever closer to the point where the Sisters of Mercy will no longer be able to provide a second level education in Kinvara, the community is very anxious to have the lease in place, as it would give them a significant degree of security in knowing that the facility would remain open in Kinvara and that their children could continue to access the facility until such time as a new facility could be built.
I look forward to the Minister of State's response and hope significant progress has been made since April.
Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe.
I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the Department's position on the provision of a new second level school at Kinvara, County Galway, and the model the school will follow. The position is that the patrons of the school in question informed the Department some time ago that they would be closing the existing school in 2012. When trustees or a patron body decide to close a school, the Department's main concern is to ensure the best interests of the pupils are looked after and that there will be sufficient student places in existing schools in the general area for students who would normally have enrolled in the closing school.
In the light of increases in population in the south Galway area and the decision of the Sisters of Mercy to close Seamount College, Kinvara, on a phased basis, the Department determined that a new post-primary school would be required in the south Galway area. Accordingly, the Commission on School Accommodation was requested to conduct a survey of school accommodation in the area to determine the location of the proposed post-primary school and identify other locations where additional school places might be required in the next five to ten years.
The survey which facilitated proactive planning was based on a transparent process of consultation with interested parties from the area. A total of 25 submissions were received from trustees, boards of management, principals, teachers, staff and parent groups, as well as others with an interest in educational provision in south Galway. The survey also involved analysis of key factors such as demography-population, house building, Galway County Council local area plans, enrolment trends at both primary and post-primary levels and visits by members of the technical group to schools.
The report's recommendations for Kinvara are that "a co-educational post primary school for circa 800 students should be provided in the northern environs of Kinvara. This school should cater for the Kinvara catchment area including traditional areas of north Clare, Ballinderreen and Kilcolgan. It should also cater for students from Clarinbridge and Oranmore, for whom it may not be possible to make provision at St. Calasanctius secondary school, Oranmore.
It is my intention that officials from the Department will consult with the relevant stakeholders regarding the issues of patronage and other practical arrangements relating to the establishment of the new school entity. When a new school has been approved a number of procedures and processes must be undertaken and these can take some time to complete. The main stages are the identification and acquisition of a suitable site, design of the building, application and granting of planning permission, invitation to seek tenders and construction.
Given the budgetary constraints and the timescale involved, it will not be possible to construct a new post-primary school building in advance of the school referred to by the Senator. Accordingly, the existing trustees have agreed in principle to enter into a lease arrangement for the existing school building and site with my Department. The House can be assured that this is intended as an interim measure pending the delivery of the permanent school accommodation for the new school entity.
The progression of all large-scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction will be considered in the context of the school building and modernisation programme. However, in view of the level of demand on the Department's capital budget, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project at this time. I thank the Senator again for giving me the opportunity to outline to the Seanad the current position regarding school provision in the Kinvara area.
Ciarán Cannon (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. It was my understanding that at this point the planned provision of second level education at Kinvara is to be done through that leasing arrangement with the nuns. I hoped the response would contain a significant amount of detail on how that leasing arrangement is progressing. However, I thank the Minister for State for his response. I would like to have an opportunity, perhaps before Christmas, to get some more detail on how exactly that lease arrangement is progressing.