360 pupils in a rat-infested school built for 150

Rats, dodgy plumbing and classrooms in corridors are among the many problems faced by Whitecross National School in Julianstown, which is waiting for the announcement of a new school building from the Department of Education. The condition of the school has been described as 'appalling' and 'Victorian' by parents and public representatives. The school was originally built to accommodate 150 pupils but currently caters for 360 students, 70 per cent of whom spend their days in prefabricated classrooms. Parents spokesman, Andrew Lenihan, said they had a terrible problem with rats and mice before Christmas. Mousetraps are set in every roo m and concrete had to be set around some prefabs to prevent rats taking up residence in them. He pointed out that there was nowhere for teachers to meet with parents in private and, of the 13 classrooms in the school, just four are of an acceptable departmental standard. Mr Lenihan said that they were promised a new school in 2007 but nothing has happened since. The school is paying €78,000 a year to rent prefabs. "The toilet facilities are from another era and three of the prefabs are over 25 years-old," he said. "It unbelieveable to think we have gone through such wealthy times and our children, who are the future of the country, have to go to school in such dreadful conditions. We are worried for our children's health. I went to this school 35 years ago and have three boys there now and they are all in prefabs. The conditions are worse than they were 35 years ago," he added. Following a visit to the school on Friday, Deputy Shane McEntee called on the Minister for Education to provide immediate funding for a new school. "Some of the conditions experienced by pupils and teachers in Whitecross School are positively Victorian. Over half of the school's buildings are prefabs. At least three of these prefabs are over 25 years-old, with toilets and plumbing completely unsuitable for small children. "The smell of the toilets permeates into the classrooms, along with the accompanying damp and cold associated with prefabs. It can be seen from the roll books that the children in prefabs have more sick days than the children in the main school block," added Deputy McEntee. The FG TD said that sometimes the water freezes and basins have to be provided for children and teachers to wash their hands. "The plumbing system is near complete breakdown and the school's management don't know whether to get it fixed or to wait for the new building promised by the minister. Children with learning difficulties are being taught in a corridor and the teachers don't even have a staff room." Deputy McEntee said Whitecross was in a very difficult situation and the announcement by the minister that schools can now buy prefabs instead of renting is irrelevant because they are waiting for a new school building. He said that, in the past, the school has supported local parishes when the need has arisen and taken pupils from Laytown and and far away as Balbriggan. "Set in beautiful grounds with a well-maintained garden, Whitecross is a victim of its own success. From the outside, it looks perfectly acceptable. "I cannot believe in this day and age that rats, dodgy plumbing and classrooms in corridors are seen as an acceptable way to educate our children," Deputy McEntee said. FG's education spokesperson Brian Hayes visited a number of east Meath schools, including Whitecross, last Friday to see some of the problems it faced for himself. He also visited O'Carolan College, Nobber, and Dunboyne College Of Further Education during his whistlestop tour.