Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Ba mhaith liom mo chuid ama a roinnt, trí nóiméad dom féin agus nóiméad amháin don Seanadóir Michael Mullins, más feidir.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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An bhfuil sé sin aontaithe? Agreed.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Cuirim fáilte arís roimh an Aire. Baineann seo le Scoil Naomh Caitríona in Eachraim, Contae na Gaillimhe, scoil ar thug mé cuairt uirthi an tseachtain seo caite. I raise the issue of St. Catherine's national school in Aughrim, County Galway. This is a small school in a rural area just outside Ballinasloe. The school has been subject to a number of staffing cutbacks in recent years but the main issue is related to the school building. My question for the Minister was whether in his view the school building is fit for purpose.

The teaching staff has reduced from eight to seven and a special needs assistant post has also been lost. One of the pupils is a child with Down's syndrome who is now without a full-time special needs assistant and this has not been fully explained. There is a fear that the school is being slowly run down. I ask the Minister to take account of their concerns in particular with regard to the school building. A recent inspection has taken place but a written report has not as yet been made available. The school building is reasonably old and the original wiring and plumbing are in place. There are three classrooms within the building, one of which provides cramped accommodation and a number of prefabs which are used for resource teaching and support teaching. The school has plenty of land which would be available if an extension or a new school were possible. An extension might be a suitable initial solution. I know from raising other issues on the Adjournment with other Ministers such as the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, that there might be a stimulus package in the near future and this would be an ideal solution for the school.

Heating is provided by storage heaters and the cost is very high so that the school is using a significant portion of its capitation grant to pay for heating. This is the 21st century and the students and teachers in St. Catherine's national school in Aughrim deserve a school fit for purpose. I welcome the Minister of State's thoughts on what can be done for this school.

Michael Mullins (Fine Gael)
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I wish to support the case made by Senator Ó Clochartaigh and I thank him for sharing his time with me. St. Catherine's national school in Aughrim has been let down and disappointed over many years. There was an expectation prior to the general election before last that a new school was to be built. I visited the school on a number of occasions and I saw the very cramped and difficult accommodation in which teachers were operating. The school is not fit for purpose as it stands. If a new school is not to be built, then significant renovation work is required. The land and the space is available for such works. In this day and age it is incumbent on the Department of Education and Skills to consider this school's particular case because many schools in the locality were in a much better condition than St. Catherine's in Aughrim but they seem to have jumped the queue over the years. In light of the recent inspection I ask the Department to consider the situation at St. Catherine's.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Táim chun freagra a thabhairt ar an ábhar tráthúil seo thar ceann mo chomhghleacaí, an tAire Oideachais agus Scileanna.Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghlacadh leis an Seanadóir faoin gceist a ardú mar tugann sé an deis dom staid reatha an iarratais ó scoil naisiunta Naomh Caitríona, Eachroim, le scoil nua ocht seomra ranga a shoiléiriú.

I thank the Senators for their contributions. The Senators may find it helpful if I set out the context within which decisions relating to meeting the accommodation needs of schools must be considered over the coming years. Total enrolment is expected to grow by around 70,000 students between now and 2018 - by more than 45,000 students at primary level and 25,000 students at post-primary level. Second level enrolment is expected to continue to rise until at least 2024.

In order to meet the needs of our growing population of school-going children, the Department must establish new schools as well as extending or replacing a number of existing schools in areas where demographic growth has been identified. The delivery of these new schools, together with extension projects to meet future demand, will be the main focus of the Department's budget for the coming years. The five year programme which the Minister, Deputy Quinn recently announced will provide over 100,000 permanent school places, of which over 80,000 will be new school places. The remainder will be the replacement of temporary or unsatisfactory accommodation.

In view of the need to ensure that every child has access to a school place, the delivery of major school projects to meet the national demographic demands will be the main focus for capital investment in schools in the coming years. The five year programme is focused on meeting those demographic needs. In that context, it was not possible to advance all applications for capital funding concurrently.

In the case of St. Catherine's national school, Aughrim, the brief for the project is to provide a new eight-classroom school. St. Catherine's building project will progress into architectural planning shortly and will continue to be progressed through the various stages of the architectural planning process within the context of the funding available. However, in light of current competing demands on the Department's capital budget, it is not possible at this time to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of this project to tender and construction stage. I have heard the position outlined very clearly by both Senators. There may well be a stimulus package that would be appropriate but we do not have the details of such a package. I note the suggestion from Senator Ó Clochartaigh the possibility of an alteration to the proposal in order to expedite it. I will convey to my ministerial colleague, Deputy Quinn, the points made by the Senators. I am sure if such a stimulus package were to be available that St. Catherine's will be considered.

Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein)
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Go raibh maith agat a Aire Stáit. The reply is quite disappointing and does not really answer the question of whether the Minister deems the school to be "fit for purpose". This is the important phrase. I understand from raising other issues for other schools about the need to build schools in areas where none is available but I do not think this gives the Government the excuse not to deal with schools which are not fit for purpose. I will await with interest to see what the inspection report says. If it recommends the school is not fit for purpose we will be pushing that more be done for the school. I note the Department may be open to having discussions with the school with the possibility of renovation work or an extension as opposed to a full build. I will ask the school to contact the Department. I ask the Minister of State to convey our disappointment to the Minister that the school is not included and that we would welcome a copy of the report on whether the school is currently fit for purpose.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I will convey those points to the Minister.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for her attendance. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Shane McEntee who will deal with the final matter.