The ceiling of a pre-fabricated classroom in a Limerick school collapsed because the wrong nails were used, the Minister for Education, Mr Dempsey, has said.
However, the Minister insisted that an inquiry by Office of Public Works staff had shown that the classroom, one of five in use in St Nessan's National School, in Mungret, was safe.
"The Office of Public Works says the building is structurally sound. People should have no fear about going into the school," the Minister told the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science.
"I would just want to make it clear that there is no safety issue. I appreciate that people have major concerns. I won't diminish the fact that other remediations need to be done," he said.
Repairs and checks on all of the pre-fabricated classrooms will be completed by September, though the Minister defended the decision not to go ahead now with a €2 million new building.
More than 25 children were frightened on June 12th when two sections of plaster board and masonry fell on pupils in second class at the school.
The incident forced the withdrawal of 139 pupils from the school and led to protests by parents, including one outside the Department of Education's headquarters in Dublin. Parents and teachers at St Nessan's, which has 770 pupils, have been campaigning for years to have the sub-standard and overcrowded conditions improved.
Following inspections by OPW workers, the Department of Education said the fastenings of a ceiling panel had become loose.
The Minister's assurances yesterday stand in contrast to remarks made at the time by the Limerick East Minister of State, Mr Tim O'Malley, who claimed the classrooms "wouldn't pass safety standards".
In May 2002, before the general election, the then minister for education, Dr Michael Woods, wrote to local politicians and others to inform them that work on a €2 million building at the school was set to get the go-ahead.
Labour TD Ms Jan O'Sullivan said the pre-fabricated classrooms had been in use for 14 years. "I don't like the simplistic message that the Minister is offering," she told the Oireachtas committee.
"There is an awful lot wrong with these pre-fabs. You should consider their requests for new pre-fabs. They are genuinely worried about the conditions."
