2026-03-26

I wish to raise with the Minister of State the situation of Cloontagh National School in County Longford. This is a rural DEIS school between Ballymahon and Longford town where the children and the staff are being asked to learn and work in conditions that are simply not acceptable in 2026. I visited this school recently and I was struck by the artwork on the walls, the colour, the kids out in the yard having the craic as all kids should be, and the passion that the teachers and the staff brought. However, that could not and will not hide the reality of the condition of the buildings in which the children are being taught. There is constant damp. There is mould on the walls, the ceilings and even on the floors. Dehumidifiers are running constantly. Equipment and laptops in use by the teachers have been replaced due to moisture damage. The principal wrote to the Department in November outlining how the school was in crisis mode and had genuine health, safety and well-being risks. A photograph I am showing here from an engineer's report was also sent to the Department. It shows glue sticks black with the mould from being in that classroom. This is simply not good enough from any school, never mind a primary school. The biggest concern that was outlined to me was the prefab structure that is also on-site. It is decades old and it is clearly failing. That engineer's report from February of this year shows visible deterioration of the external walls, mould growth inside the toilet area, water ingress through the ceiling, and even lifting floors and peeling walls inside the teaching space. The accommodation itself in the prefab is a small lobby, a toilet and a classroom and the only way I can describe the floor in certain areas of that prefab is that it is squishy when you walk on it. No prefab floor should be squishy when you walk on it but that is exactly what is happening. There is also significant and concerning signs of structural instability in that prefab and that is the reality for those kids today. The principal wrote to the Department last year describing persistent damp mould, maggots and flies appearing inside the classroom, heating that cannot keep the building warm and the damage to the ICT equipment because of the moisture level, clearly stating how the school was in crisis mode and that the building is no longer fit for purpose. She is not exaggerating. She is pleading for help because this school was already approved for a new building in 2022. The agreed designs were of the Department's standards and were well above what the school itself had originally asked for. Land has been purchased, designs prepared, engineers paid and plans drawn up but today those children are still in that same prefab and the building is simply not fit for purpose. I asked a parliamentary question as to where this school was on the timeline for additional school accommodation and I was told that no timeline can be given for when construction will begin. That answer may satisfy a file but it certainly does not satisfy the parents and the staff nor does it meet the needs of the children who have to sit in that school every day. This is not a luxury project by any stretch. This is not a wish list. This is a basic requirement for a safe, dry and modern school building. Cloontagh National School may be a small school but the children who attend that school deserve the same standard of facilities as any child anywhere else in the State. Will the Department recognise that this case is urgent? Will it be prioritised? When will the project move to construction and, in the interim, will a full health and safety audit be carried out on the exiting facilities? This current situation cannot continue.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and giving me the opportunity on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, to update the House on the current position regarding Cloontagh National School in County Longford. Cloontagh National School is a two-teacher school based in Killashee parish. The school is under the patronage of Bishop Paul Connell and a Catholic ethos is upheld. School enrolment has decreased from 23 in 2021 to 2022, to 14 in 2025 to 2026, reflecting the national decline in primary demographics. At a national level, primary enrolments are projected to decline by 100,000 over a ten-year period. In 2022, on foot of an application, accommodation was approved for this school under the additional school accommodation scheme. This project will provide one mainstream classroom, one special education needs classroom and ancillary. A stage 2 report was submitted to the Department officials in quarter 3 of 2025. This report is currently under review from both a technical and cost perspective. All projects, including this one, will undergo the necessary due diligence outlined in the infrastructure guidelines. Given the detailed nature of the evaluation process, the need to ensure full cost compliance, and the requirement to align the project with the prioritisation framework under the national development plan, this review process is necessarily thorough. In July 2025, the Government announced an allocation of over €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for a period up to 2030 under the national development plan. As part of the NDP allocation, the Department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. Regarding project roll-out for large-scale projects and additional school accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and also provide the necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project roll-out over the course of the 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs. The sectoral plan for the education and youth sector will be published shortly. The first tranche of projects to progress to construction will be published at that time. This national development plan, NDP, implementation plan will optimise ongoing outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money and meets functional needs. All existing school building projects and applications for accommodation will be considered in this context, with a particular focus on ensuring existing capacity is maximised. The Department had recent engagement with the school and will continue to work with it to ensure current and future school place needs are prioritised.

I thank the Minister of State for his response, which is very similar to a response to a parliamentary question I received. He emphasised special educational needs. The school in question has a child waiting to start in the special class promised in 2022. The class has not materialised and the child is still waiting. The Minister of State also referred to cost capacities and value for money. Department officials came to the school and told it what should be built, which was far in excess of what the school itself had asked for. Today, there are children sitting in a classroom with walls that show signs of structural instability. I certainly would not accept one of my children being in a school like that. Would the Minister of State? I do not think any parent should have to do that. I will give another fact about this school. In the concrete part of the school, there is one classroom and a multifunctional room, and I use that term lightly. This multifunctional room is the principal's office, the secretary's office and the staff room. It is also where children with special educational needs are taught. That part of the room is divided from the secretary's workplace by a row of filing cabinets. The school build, as it stands, is simply not fit for purpose. The school was given a commitment that this build would be done. Now, almost four years later, there is still no sign of it. The staff are doing the best they can in inappropriate facilities. Pupils are learning in unsuitable conditions and members of the school community feel they have been left behind. I am very disappointed that there is nothing in the Minister of State's response that would indicate they are wrong to feel that way. The €7 billion announced means nothing to them; they are not included in it. Their children are still going back to a cold, damp, squishy floor in a mould-covered school tomorrow and after the Easter break. I want to bring it back to this issue because it is what is important here. This school is in the children's community. It is the local school, and the six teachers and staff are doing fantastic work. These are not just my words that I am putting on the record here. Everything I have said has been confirmed by an engineer's report and in correspondence sent to the Department.

I thank the Deputy again for raising important points regarding a school in her constituency. I will ensure I take those points back to the Minister for education, Deputy Naughton. I emphasise again that the Department is fully committed to ensuring there is appropriate accommodation available for all school pupils and will, in the wider context, continue to engage with Cloontagh National School and ensure the building project for the school is subject to the required diligence under the Government's infrastructure guidelines. We all understand that the construction environment is challenging across all sectors, not just in education but also in housing. The Department is required to manage the timing, scope and cost of individual projects within its budgetary requirements. As I said, further engagement is required and I am sure the Deputy and many of her Oireachtas colleagues in her area will engage further with the school management on how we can progress and enhance the school environment to ensure that pupils have appropriate conditions and that any refurbishment or existing emergency works are implemented in a speedy manner, while progressing the project itself as required and approved.