George Lawlor: Demands Sports Hall for CBS Secondary School New Ross

Minister, CBS Secondary School New Ross currently has an enrolment of 413 students. It is a co-educational desh school and yet remains the only secondary school in County Wexford without a sports hall. And that is a significant disparity that leaves the students and indeed the teachers at the school at a significant disadvantage. It is the understanding that the Department of Education has already approved in principle the construction of a full-size sports hall internally to comprise of 594 square metres with an overall scale of some 1,048 square metres if you include the storage and all the ancillary services. But what is urgently needed now is an action plan for the funding to turn the approval into reality. The absence of such a facility here in this school not only impacts on the ability to deliver a comprehensive physical education curriculum but also contradicts previous government strategies for encouraging youth participation in sports and physical activity which as we all know is crucial for student well-being. So investing in a sports hall aligns with national priorities to promote health, fitness and inclusion in education. Currently within the school the peace facilities are grossly inadequate and present numerous challenges particularly in terms of health and safety. They only have two outdoor basketball courts which are covered in tarmac and are deteriorating with large cracks appearing in several areas. The outdoor grass area is seriously on a level and sloped and unsuitable for safe sporting activities. While they do have an indoor sports area it is essentially a large classroom. I was in it for darkness into light a couple of weeks ago and it really is just a large classroom and the school is expected to carry on their PE activities in this. It rules out all ball sports or energetic activities. Additionally the equipment is stored for the PE in a cargo container with no electricity and that of course creates its own safety risks particularly during the winter months when light is poor. The inadequacies in the current set up also extend to the health and safety concerns. The outdoor yard is hazardous especially during wet conditions and they are also unable to offer students proper changing and shower facilities after their PE classes. Beyond the immediate concerns of health and safety and practically the ability to deliver a comprehensive and varied PE curriculum is significantly hampered. Unfortunately the planning is often dictated also by weather and facility limitations rather than the students need. This should not be the case for students as we know Minister in a desk school. The school believe it or not celebrates its 175th anniversary this year. Yet the sports and PE facilities within the school have seen little progress since 1849. A sports hall of course also would serve a broader purpose within the school community. It will provide essential space for home whole school events, assemblies and celebrations. At present the only option is the local parish church in Euros for gathering the entire student body. They have had to hire outdoor stages for school awards and other events and obviously these pose logistical challenges when weather conditions are unfavorable. A sports hall would also provide suitable space for hosting exams, something that the school now currently struggles with given the limited indoor facilities. The school is a central part of New Ross Town and they offer facilities despite them being limited to New Ross Musical Society, the My St. Michael's Theatre Musical Society, New Ross Drama Workshop, the Polish School and also they offer their limited outdoor facilities to New Ross Town Football Club and New Ross Striders. They make use of the off-site fields which are approximately one kilometre from the school. So despite their constraints they really do need this facility and really it should be an urgent addition to this school after 175 years. Thank you, Mr. Brophy. Thank you. I wish to obviously thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me as an opportunity to clarify the position in relation to the Department of Education and Youth's plans for upgrading school buildings including CBS Secondary School in New Ross County, Rexford. The school as you know had an enrolment in 2024 of 413 pupils. This represents an increase of 4% in the last five years. The Department approved significant capital funding for CBS Secondary School under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme in 2019. The approved project was for the provision of four general classrooms, one special education tuition room, one DCG room and one home economics room. This project was devolved to the school authorities for delivery and the project is currently at tender stage. The Department's Planning and Building Unit also received an application in June 2017 from CBS Secondary Schools seeking capital funding for the provision of a PE hall. The school authority was informed in writing at the time that it's not currently possible to consider the application. However, approval was given to the school authorities in 2022 to include funding for a master planning for a future build of a PE hall in conjunction with the 2019 project. Since 2020, the Department has invested over £6 billion in our schools throughout the country involving completion of over 1,375 school building projects. Between the projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in the coming months, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 610,000 square metres of new and modernised capacity to our school estate. This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase the provision of special education and upgrade the modernisation of our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right across our country. The Programme for Government recognises the importance of strong capital investment in the school building programme and supporting this with enhanced allocations through the NDP process. A future strengthened focus on refurbishment of existing school stock will have different strands and will include a PE build and modernisation programme which will enable students in post-primary schools to have access to appropriate facilities to support PE provision. Particularly also in the context of the rollout of PE as a leaving certificate subject. Enhanced and modernised PE facilities will also provide important amenities for local communities. However, the main focus of the Department's capital funding over the last decade and for the coming period is on the provision of critical additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics and children with special educational needs. The Department manages the overall school building programme, ensuring that areas under the greatest pressure for additional school places are prioritised. This reflects the Department's fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child. Thank you. The response, I have to say, is quite disappointing to discover that in this day and age that a PE hall, when we consider issues of mental health and well-being and physical activity, that a PE hall doesn't appear to be on the agenda for this school. The only secondary school, I repeat, in County Wexford, that doesn't have a PE hall or a gymnasium. They're expected to operate with below substandard facilities. And yet the response is that it's not a priority, when the talk we hear day in day out is that the provision of facilities for physical activity to improve the wellbeing and mental health of people is to the forefront. But here we have a situation where a school, which has an enrolment of 413 students, is expected to operate in what effectively is a large classroom. It's expected to operate in substandard conditions at a time when we're talking about making physical education or PE a central component of the leaving cert. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. It doesn't make any sense whatsoever. Can I ask, Minister, and I appreciate that you're here on behalf of the Minister for Education today, can I ask that you bring this back to the Minister for Education, Minister McEntee, and emphasise the importance of this issue for the students, the parents and the teachers of this school. They are battling, they're running up a hill trying to provide facilities, facilities that are available tenfold in other schools in the immediate area. This school deserves the recognition and support from this government and the Department of Education. And the Department of Education are not known for being hasty, I can tell you, as you well know yourself, when it comes to the provision of facilities. This is an urgent request from the pupils, the teachers and the families of those who attend NeurossCBS. Can I ask that you bring it back to Minister McEntee for her urgent attention. Thank you very much, Deputy. And I will just reassure you, obviously, take on board your remarks and bring this back to the Minister for her attention. As has been outlined by me in my earlier contribution, there are a range of projects being delivered right across the school area. The delivery remains, obviously, the priority is for the Department to ensure there are places available for every student for the next school year. But obviously, in the context of that, in the context of the points you've made here today, I will bring your views back to the Minister and make sure she's aware of them. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.