Angry councillors demand to know numbers taught in prefabs

ANGRY county councillors are demanding that the Department of Education reveal how many children are being educated in prefabricated buildings in Cork.

They are also predicting that substandard accommodation could become a major issue in the local elections, and that it will hurt Fianna Fáil.

The local authority is writing a formal letter to the department seeking the information, amid concern that there could be hundreds, if not thousands of children, being educated in archaic conditions in the county.

The issue was raised at a meeting in County Hall yesterday by Councillor John A Collins.

The Carrigaline-based Fine Gael councillor said he believed nationally up to 50,000 children were being educated in prefabs.

“I want Cork Co Council to extricate the figures for this county from the Department of Education. I’ve a 10-year-old daughter who for the last six years has been educated in a prefab. In Ballygarvan there are already four prefabs in the school. There is no room for any more,” Cllr Collins said.

He found widespread cross-party support from his colleagues on the local authority.

“All of us in this council chamber could tell of problems we have in our respective areas with poor conditions in schools. The Department of Education should be providing proper accommodation,” Cllr Martin Hallinan (SF) said.

Cllr Paula Desmond (Lab) said the list of substandard accommodation in local schools was probably quite lengthy but added she doubted whether the department would supply the council with such information.

Cllr John O’Shea (FG) said that the department had to apply to Cork Co Council for planning permission for prefabs.

“If the department doesn’t supply us with the figures we should be able to get the number of prefabs from our own planning files,” Cllr O’Shea said.

His party colleague, Cllr Kevin Murphy, said serious problems existed: “Imagine using a converted toilet as a classroom.”

This was a reference to the recently highlighted plight of pupils and teachers at Glenville National School.

County manager, Martin Riordan, said he would get his officials to look at the planning files in an attempt to extract information on the number of prefabs in use in the county.