On 10 February 1984 the greatest turnabout by the Department of Education in many years was perpetrated on the people of Knocklyon and Ballyboden. There was anger and frustration at the news given to the people of Knocklyon on 10 February that the community school would not now be in existence until 1988. It came as a shock and a tremendous surprise to the people of that area. There is a long litany going back to 1977 of pledges from Ministers for Education. Successive Ministers have said that Knocklyon would have this community school and then, out of the blue, comes this notice that it is being put off until 1988. It is not good enough.
I am disappointed that the Minister for Education has not come into the House to answer this. That is no disrespect to the Minister of State, but the Minister should be here to deal with this important issue. Thousands of people are depending on this school and it is not good enough that the Minister for Education herself has not come in to answer this. It is the greatest turnabout perpetrated on the people in any area in many a long year. I do not want to take up all the time. My colleague, Deputy Andrews and, I am sure, Deputies from the other side of the House want to get in, and we have got only a few minutes.
I will not go through all the details. In 1981 Deputy Boland said he would have the school opened in 1983 if he had a site. A couple of weeks later he had a site and there was still no sign of a schools opening. On the contrary, it was postponed, and now we are told it will not be open till 1988. Will this go into the 1985 Estimates? Clearly it is not in the 1984 Estimates. Will the Minister change the 1984 Estimates and see that it is put in there? What are we to say to the people of Knocklyon and Ballyboden and that area? Where are they to send their families to school in the coming years while they are waiting for this school?
What is the Minister's answer to that question? Does he know this is one of the fastest growing areas in Dublin with little or no public services, bad lighting and poor roads? It has had a population explosion. The Department of Education have cheek to say to this huge population in a cavalier letter that the school will not open in 1986 after all, and that it will be 1988 before it opens. That is not good enough. The people of Knocklyon are not accepting that. As the public representatives for that area we are not accepting it either.
I am trying to convey to the Minister the anger and frustration felt by the people of Knocklyon and by their public representatives. Can the people of Ireland be blamed if they are cynical about politicians? Year after year a specific promise was given about the opening of the school and then lo and behold, the Estimates are revised and there is no school. What does the word of the Department of Education mean? What does the word of a politician mean if a decision can be changed by the stroke of a ministerial pen?
I am trying to convey to the Minister the anger felt by these people. There is a litany of broken promises in the Department of Education in regard to this school. We are not taking no for an answer. We have reached a crisis. I am asking the Minister to tell us that he will put this into the 1985 Estimate, if not the 1984 Estimate, and that he will commit his Government here this evening to a firm opening date for this school for which a site has been bought for many years. Have the Government and the Department got the guts to give all politicians the credibility which they deserve by living up to the promise they made to the people of Knocklyon? Give us our community school.