Adjournment Matters - Higher Education Infrastructure FundingWednesday, 7 December 2011 |
Seanad Éireann Debate
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Senator Susan O’Keeffe:
St. Angela’s College, Sligo, is a fine college that has developed from a traditional home economics college built originally for a small number of students. In the past 20 years, it has extended its business. Now it has 1,000 students with a wide variety of interesting courses including nursing, child care, its traditional home economics core, textiles, fashion and design, food and business management along with a variety of postgraduate courses in subjects such as special needs education, youth and family studies and religious studies. The college has been to the fore not just in the innovation of the sorts of courses it offers, but it has been tailoring courses specifically looking for niches in the education market. It has also invested in the necessary technology and equipment required to run courses with a technological base. It has an extremely dedicated and hard-working team headed by Dr. Anne Taheny.
As a consequence of all its efforts, in 2010 the college received an allocation of €4.3 million for remedial and health and safety work on the campus, not for some cosmetic project to make students more comfortable or give them a cushier life. Parts of the roof, for example, are seriously dilapidated and access to it for vital maintenance works is dangerous. Insulation in some of the buildings, which date from the 1970s, is either poor or non-existent. Some of the windows are broken. I must concede that Sligo, a bit like Cork, is one of the damper parts of the country and, as a result, the energy costs for the buildings are higher than normal. New ramps and stairways are required and the current lift does not comply with National Disability Authority guidelines for such structures. Another lift is required for the number of students and the potential for students with disabilities. Fire regulations in some parts of the buildings are not up to scratch and some of the office accommodation is overcrowded and falls short of health and safety guidelines in the workplace.
In short, these remedial works are essential. The college, in response to the €4.3 million allocation, is tender ready and the buildings science report is complete with all plans and so forth in place. The team at the college has worked away without complaint. The college has a fine future. The irony is that it needs this building work to secure that future. It is not appropriate for either a student or staff member to be carried up or down a stairs in the event of an emergency. Neither is it appropriate that people are working and studying in a place in which fire regulations are falling short of necessary standards. What is the status of the allocation of €4.3 million to the college?
Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills (Deputy Ciarán Cannon):
I am replying to this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to address the House on this matter.
On 10 November, the Government published details of its capital spending plans for up to 2016. Owing to the difficult budgetary situation, the level of capital funding available for investment in higher education infrastructure provides only for funding higher education projects where there are legally binding contractual commitments. A project in design at St. Angela’s College, Sligo, has not reached the point of being a legally binding contractual commitment with the result that apart from funding for fees incurred to date on the project, there are no resources available to fund the project at this time.
Soaring birth rates are putting unprecedented demands on our schools infrastructure. Recent birth rate data for the first quarter of 2011 alone show that 19,950 births were registered. It is vital the schooling system is prepared to cope with these increased numbers. Accordingly, it has been necessary for the Department of Education and Skills to focus the capital investment available on ensuring every child has access to a physical school place. The result is that there remains only sufficient funding to deal with contractual commitments arising in the higher education sector.
The overall capital needs of St. Angela’s College, Sligo, were quantified in 2006 at €17.5 million. For a higher education institution with a student population of less than 1,000 this represents a substantial investment. A more modest proposal emerged more recently which aims to provide lifts to address access for all issues and to tackle some refurbishment works. The all-in costs of the more recent proposal amounted to €6.5 million with the works split into two phases. Approval was given to commence design for works valued at €4 million in October 2010.
However, the project had not reached the point of being a contractual commitment when the curtailment on spending in the higher education sector became effective earlier this year coinciding with the Government’s announcement. There is funding available to meet design costs incurred to date on this project. These will be paid when the relevant details are submitted. The Minister realises the serious impact that not proceeding with this project at this time is likely to have on St. Angela’s College and the additional challenges it will present. In light of the constraints on capital funding regretfully there are no alternatives at this time, however. Any potential future commitment to such works will have to be considered in the context of the national strategy for higher education, that is, the Hunt report.
Despite this difficult news, St. Angela’s College has been the beneficiary of investment of almost €2 million dating back to 1999. This investment has enabled the carrying out of a range of works, including the renovation of food laboratories at the college, the removal of asbestos, and addressing health and safety concerns. In addition, the Health Service Executive invested close to €9 million in delivering new nursing facilities at the college which were opened in 2007.
As I said, I acknowledge and regret the impact that this decision will have for this college and the additional challenges that it will present, but in light of the capital allocations available for investment in higher education infrastructure generally up to 2016, there is no other option available at this time. I thank the Senator once again for raising the matter.
Senator Susan O’Keeffe:
It is most disappointing in light of the fact that, as I stated, the project in hand is not a vanity one. On the legal requirements, it is puzzling to find a building which pays staff and invites students to come in where there are difficulties with fire and health and safety aspects. I do not know what the ramifications of that are. Obviously, the college will take the response and will look to the potential of the Hunt report. Perhaps there is scope, through the Hunt report, for the viability of the college to be reconsidered. I thank the Minister of State.
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