Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Recently in the Dáil, I asked the Minister about the fact that money is being taken from the schools capital budget and being spent elsewhere. The Minister assured me that it was having no impact on capital spending on education, but when one takes €60 million that could have been used for school buildings and allocates it elsewhere, it very definitely has an impact. The many schools that await funding are unable to avail of it. While schools on which the money was going to be spent will get some from next year's capital budget, others will miss out as a result. Is it possible to have a breakdown of the schools that were due to get capital funding this year, the amount that was earmarked for those projects and the schools that did not draw it down as a result of the delay? St. Mary's national school, Stranorlar, is seeking funding for a new school building for which a site has been bought. It is on a main national road and faces pedestrian safety issues, and has very small classrooms. It is one example of a school which is not getting funding as a result of the underspend of €60 million. The Minister and Department are not focusing on ensuring that the money is spent on school buildings.