Union warns of school building programme crisis

THE DEPARTMENT of Education's school building programme is lurching towards crisis, with hundreds of school awaiting new accommodation…

THE DEPARTMENT of Education's school building programme is lurching towards crisis, with hundreds of school awaiting new accommodation or renovation, the INTO claimed last night. SEÁN FLYNN, Education Editor, reports.

The union has circulated a list of schools in urgent need of replacement or repair.

These include;

• Schools in growing areas of north Dublin where pressure on accommodation will see average class sizes of 33 next year.

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• A school in Tralee, Co Kerry, which has been condemned for some time following a health and safety audit.

• An Athenry, Co Galway school where the principal works from a hut.

• A "miserable, cold and rat-infested" school in Oldcourt, Dublin 24.

The INTO circulated the list as Minister for Education Mary Hanafin announced plans for 22 new schools yesterday.

These include 12 multi-denominational, five Catholic schools (three of which are Gaelscoileanna), one inter-denominational school and four special schools for children with autism.

Several of the new schools will be located in growing areas of Dublin including Skerries, Rush, Swords and Belmayne, Malahide Road.

Last night John Carr of the INTO said the public "should not be deluded into thinking that significant progress was being made with the school building programme. The list of buildings needing substantial renovation, repair and extension continues to grow as does the waiting time for work to begin."

The union said that while some of the new schools were needed to meet with the growing population in some areas, more must be done to upgrade existing schools which have been enduring substandard conditions for years.

The INTO list is a compilation of contributions made by various Senators during this week's Seanad debate on school buildings. During the debate, Ms Hanafin defended the Government's record on school buildings. More than 1,500 projects were completed last year while more than €4.5 billion will be allocated to school buildings under the National Development Plan 2007-13.

The Minister said she appreciated that many schools are still waiting for their building projects to progress and " I am conscious of the frustration that this can bring for children, parents, teachers and public representatives."

Last night, Mr Carr said one school, at Newcastle, Athenry, Co Galway has been on the list for almost 12 years.

The INTO list also details Gaelscoil Dara in Galway, which has operated in prefabs for the past 26 years and has only recently acquired its first site. Another school in Galway, Moycullen national school, has been on the building programme list for 11 years.

The INTO also cited the high cost of temporary accommodation. At St Brigid's school in Palmerstown prefabs cost €10,000 a month to rent and are standing empty. They have been in place since September 2007, when pupils expected to move while the school was being refurbished.