Children and parents are marching on the Dáil today in protest at the conditions at their school in West Dublin.

St Mochta’s National School was promised a fast-tracked new school building over a decade ago when it agreed to expand it’s enrolment to cater for the growing population of Dublin 15.

However they are still waiting and parents complain that conditions now are not ‘fit for purpose’.

Deirdre Herbert is with the parents’ group – ‘Mochtas Build’ – she says children are being taught in overcrowded prefabs with leaks, mould and damp: “We have holes and teachers holding classes in the PE hall, with PE taking place in the other half of the hall.

“Children do wear their coats in school and then the children are out of school because they are sick and then you are getting notifications from the department saying you have missed x, y and z days and it is just not good for children and the teachers.”