Order No. 

Ref No.     

Date:

10|04|03

Education and Science:

Oral Question(s)           

Question:
To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he proposes to sanction the
building of prefabs at Griffeen Educate Together because of the fact that
parents and teachers are being pushed to the wire on the number of classes for
September 2003.

To ask the Minister for Education and Science if some form of building will be
permitted at the site owned by a company (details supplied) at Griffeen Avenue,
to facilitate Griffeen Valley Educate Together School, in view of his previous
statement that his Department will be seeking a value for money solution
because of current budgetary constraints.

To ask the Minister for Education and Science if his Department will consider
two to three prefabs for Griffeen Valley Educate Together to be a value for
money solution for the 2003|4 school year in view of the huge demand that
exists in the Lucan area.

To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a rental valuation has been
carried out by the OPW on the site proposed by Griffeen Valley Educate Together
School; and if not, when this will occur, in view of the urgency for the school
to have a final decision made.

Reply:
I propose to take questions 10, 272, 273 and 276 together.

I am fully conscious of the issues raised by the Deputy in this case. The background to the matter is that Griffeen Valley Educate Together National School opened in September 2002 with provisional recognition from my Department. The school is currently housed in rented accommodation in the Scout Den in Lucan village.

During the period of provisional recognition, it is the responsibility of the school patron to provide interim accommodation. This accommodation must be capable of meeting the needs of the developing school until permanent recognition has been secured and my Department is in a position to acquire a site and provide a permanent school building. Interim accommodation must comply at all times with planning, fire and health and safety and building regulations

In view of the restricted capacity of the Scout Den ( maximum capacity 30), the promoters were advised to develop and implement an enrolment policy in line with the capacity of the available accommodation. This approach was essential to ensure that there was no overcrowding that might create a health and safety problem for pupils and school staff.

In response to its impending accommodation difficulties, the Board of Management of the school has made a proposal to my Department to lease the site which has been reserved in the Griffeen Valley area for primary education purposes, from the owners, and to house the school in temporary accommodation on the site.

This proposal is currently under consideration in my Department and as part of the process, the Property Management Section of the Office of Public Works was asked to carry out a rental valuation on the site. An initial report from the OPW is to hand in relation to the terms that the vendor would require in order to grant access to the site. These terms require further consultation and negotiation between the vendor and the OPW. A decision will be conveyed to the school management authorities as soon as possible.