Louth senator raises outdated laboratories at De La Salle Dundalk
“I am sure the Minister of State can agree that using science laboratories built in the 1970s and the late 1990s in 2023 is not acceptable."
Louth Fine Gael Senator John McGahon yesterday raised the matter of outdated science laboratories at De La Salle Secondary School in the Seanad.
The senator was addressing Minister of State at the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Niall Collins.
The senator said:
I raise this matter this morning after meeting Cara McAdam, who is a science teacher in De La Salle College, Dundalk, a couple of weeks ago.
“She showed me the science laboratory and the rest of the college. There are four laboratories, one of which is in a new part of the building. Two are in a building dating from 1978 while one of the laboratories was built in 1998.
“I am sure the Minister of State can agree that using science laboratories built in the 1970s and the late 1990s in 2023 is not acceptable.
“There have been no upgrades to the laboratories during that time.
“They are very dated and in many regards are not fit for purpose. There is no safe working gas supply and no use of a fume cupboard in the chemistry laboratory.
“The laboratory built in 1998 is in a building with a chronic damp and mould problem. There is frequent flooding and infestations. There are about 700 pupils in the school, nearly all of whom are taking science.
“I saw for myself that the fume cupboard in the 1998 laboratory is positioned on the wall leading into the centre of the building, which is a violation of all health and safety standards.
“Fume cupboards should be on the edge of a building so that if there is an explosion, it goes outside rather than into the building. This clear violation of health and safety standards goes back to 1998.”
He continued:
“I accept that the funding measures will be through category 5, so I am very keen to hear a bit more detail about that, including how the school will be able to apply for that funding and how we can get these four science laboratories upgraded as quickly as possible.”
In response the minister advised that:
“The refurbishment of science laboratories as proposed by De La Salle College is appropriate to the Department of Education's summer works scheme.
Continuing:
“The summer works scheme is the funding mechanism for dealing with the more significant improvement works that are usually carried out during school holiday periods to minimise disruption to the operation of schools.
“The summer works scheme operates on a multi-annual basis, and at this stage it is envisaged the summer works scheme will next be opened for new applications later in 2023 for the delivery of projects on a phased basis from 2024 onwards.
“Schools will be notified of the details of the summer works scheme in due course and it will be open to the school to make an application at that time.”