Prefab conditions at St Ronan’s NS ‘unacceptable’, says TD

The Department of Education needs to urgently provide funding and replace prefab classrooms at St Ronan’s National School in Clondalkin, according to People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny.

Deputy Kenny said the conditions of the school were “unacceptable and not conducive to a learning and working environment.”

He that it was “shocking” that the Department of Education had not yet provided funding to have the classrooms upgraded.

There are currently 13 prefab classrooms at the school that are between 14 and 34 years old.

All 13 of the prefabs have been condemned in a specially commissioned report by the school.

Deputy Kenny pointed that there have been several issues with the classrooms in recent years.

In November 2021, an electrical fire broke out in one of the rooms and the school says temperatures can drop in all prefabs during winter to four degrees with the heating on.

The board of management had previously applied to have the one double-prefab replaced under emergency works but this was refused on cost grounds.

“The situation at St Ronan’s NS in Clondalkin is shocking,” Deputy Kenny says.

“The conditions that these children and staff are forced to put up with at this school are unacceptable.

“I cannot understand how the Department of Education and the Minister for Education have allowed these conditions to persist.”

St Ronan’s NS is categorised as a DEIS Band one school, meaning it is located in a disadvantaged area.

For around 60 percent of the students English is not their first language, and over 50 of the children are members of the Traveller Community, Deputy Kenny says.

“I am calling on the Department and the Minister to step in. These classrooms are not conducive to a learning and working environment. They should be replaced without delay.”

During a Dáil debate, Deputy Kenny said that the conditions of the school “would not be accepted” if it was located in a “more affluent area.”

Tánaiste Micheál Martin said that he disagrees “with the Deputy saying that if the area was more affluent, this would not be acceptable.

“Although he did “not know the circumstances of this school” the “Government is committed to prioritising schools that have bigger challenges than others.”