Caít Keane (Fine Gael)
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My matter concerns many children in Gaelscoil Teach na Giúise in Firhouse, Dublin 24, who do not have a permanent school building. The school is accommodated in Tymon Bawn Community Centre which is not suitable. Originally, when the school was accommodated there, it was informed it would be out of there by the end of 2013. The date was then pushed forward to June 2014 but it still has not moved. I have been speaking to staff and parents on this matter. We understand the Department and South Dublin County Council are sourcing sites for the school, as well as for the Firhouse Educate Together school, but it has taken a long time. I accept local community needs have to be taken into account such as the provision of sporting facilities and so forth. I know the Department and the council have had difficulties in this respect and do not want disadvantage one sector of the community.

As the school has only a few rooms in the community centre, this has led to uncertainty for parents about enrolling their children in the school, as it essentially cannot physically expand in its current accommodation. Parents are now asking where their children will attend if the school cannot secure permanent accommodation. It is important that certainty is brought to this matter without delay. Using community halls as classrooms, furthermore, deprives certain elements of the community of the use of the hall for sports and so on. In effect, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is subsidising the Department of Education and Skills by providing community buildings for schools that were never meant as schools. The school in question must share communal facilities such as toilets with the general public which is not satisfactory or ideal. We have seen a fine new school open in Knocklyon. The secondary school, however, is not large enough to deal with the catchment area of the feeder school.

I had a similar Adjournment matter down for the Educate Together school in Firhouse some time ago. I am interested to see if the reply has changed. I was informed private as well as public sites were being sourced. Is there any more information on that?

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, and thank the Senator for raising this issue.

Both the Minister and the Department are very much aware of the need to provide permanent accommodation for Gaelscoil Teach na Giúise, a school established to serve both a demographic and diversity need in the Firhouse area of Tallaght, County Dublin. I hope the Senator will take comfort from the fact that a building project for the school is on the Department's five-year construction plan, although the school is just completing its first year of operation. A building project for the school will proceed as soon as a suitable site has been procured. In this regard, the site acquisition process for the permanent location for the school is ongoing. Department officials are working very closely with officials from South Dublin County Council in identifying and acquiring a suitable site.

The Minister signed a memorandum of understanding between the Department of Education and Skills and the County and City Managers Association in 2012. This memorandum formalises the local authorities’ part in identifying and securing suitable sites for educational use and facilitates increased levels of co-operation between both parties. It is in this context that this work is progressing. As the process is ongoing and due to the commercial sensitivities associated with land acquisitions generally, it is not possible to provide further information at this time.

In the meantime, the school is temporarily located in the Firhouse Community Centre on Ballycullen Drive, Firhouse, as opposed to the Tymon Bawn Community Centre mentioned by the Senator. It will remain in this accommodation for the 2014-15 school year. The school will be a single-stream, eight-classroom school when fully developed. The school's current enrolment is six pupils and it has one teacher. When it started up in 2013, the entire top floor of the community centre, comprising a large room, used as a classroom for the six pupils, a boardroom, used as ancillary accommodation and office space for the teacher, a kitchen-staff room and male and female toilets, were made available for school use. The school also uses a large indoor sports hall and an outdoor play area.

The Department refurbished the premises to make it suitable for school use. The school advises it will have total enrolment of 21 pupils for the 2014-15 school year. This will attract a second teacher giving the school a pupil-teacher ratio of 10.5:1. Further enhancements are being made to the top floor and outdoor play space to facilitate the increased enrolment. The boardroom, which is adequate in size for the number of pupils that will occupy it, will be used as the second classroom. Another space, available to the school last year but which it did not use, is being converted into a principal's office and ancillary space.

While the school shared the boardroom and kitchen last year, it will have exclusive use of these facilities for the new school year. The school will continue to have priority access to the sports hall. The Department has worked and continues to work closely with the school's principal and the management of the community centre to ensure the school’s accommodation needs are met as best as is possible. Inevitably, some compromises are necessary when a school is using premises that are not purpose-built.

Gaelscoil Teach na Giuise can be assured that every effort is being made to provide it with adequate accommodation in its start-up years and to curtail its tenure in temporary accommodation by providing it with purpose-built accommodation as soon as a suitable site has been acquired. I am sorry I cannot give the Senator further information on the site.

Caít Keane (Fine Gael)
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Two thirds of the reply was a stick and paste job from the answer I got when I raised the issue previously. There was nothing new other than the sensitive commercial information. The funding being made available to community halls by the Department of Education and Skills through renting out rooms in them is valuable because sometimes they struggle. On the other hand, there may be playschools or community facilities in the locality which are disenfranchised by having a school in the hall. Long ago we tried to ensure primary schools stayed open after school hours for community use. Now community halls are being taken over by the Department of Education and Skills for school use. We have come full circle. It is not a way for the Department of Education and Skills to plan to state it loves to hear everything is being renovated and facilities will be better next year than they are this year. This must be balanced as one must consider who is losing out. Do other community facilities lose out if the top floor of the community hall is given over to a school? I am not saying this is the case, but the Department should examine it before it takes over every community hall. I am involved in community development and I know the expense South Dublin County Council went to, which was grant aided by the Department, to provide a community hall. Funding from the Department of Education and Skills for schooling is different. I will return to this issue at a later date because it is not finished business.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I will convey the Senator's points to the new Minister for Education and Skills-----

Caít Keane (Fine Gael)
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Is the Minister of State announcing it?

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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-----as the current Minister has indicated he will not stay in the job. The Department is very anxious to proceed as soon as possible. I agree with the Senator that it is not suitable to have children in a hall for any length of time.

Caít Keane (Fine Gael)
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On that note, I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Quinn, on the work he has done and I appreciate it. I wish him well.