Mr. Paul Hogan:

The first question was on whether local authorities were required to get the go-ahead from the Department of Education and Skills to zone land for educational purposes. The short answer is "No". They are obliged to have regard to, and take into consideration, submissions from the Department and it would be good practice to do this. When new schools are required, local authorities would generally consult the Department. Changing an existing or established use is different, however. There is generally a reason for land being zoned in a particular way. Land tends to be zoned for residential purposes where there is more residential demand than educational demand.

Another question was on how often departments met. There is a very effective memorandum of understanding between the Department and the local authority sector, through the city and county management association on the provision of schools. In my time in local authorities, up to three years ago, I was involved in a very effective primary school programme.

At the time I was leaving, it was ramping up to a post-primary school programme because of the success of the memorandum and how it was operating whereby the local authorities were sourcing sites through local knowledge on behalf of the Department and then liaising and engaging with the Department to acquisition and development. That was very effective and involved ongoing engagement between the local authorities and the Department, which is more effective in some respects than our own Departments discussing things, but we do so also at a strategic level.

In response to Senator Ruane, I will make a general point about the provision of green space. It is important to recognise the usability and management of green space. We are all familiar with parts of cities and towns, in particular at the edge, where there is no shortage of green space but it is just open space that is neglected and unsafe. What makes a difference is how usable facilities are in terms of things such as the active provision of pitches, courts and floodlighting, how it is secured and the evolution of clubs. That is something communities working together with schools can bring to areas. There are many examples of where that has been done successfully. One then sees hives of activity in certain areas throughout the year, but in particular in the winter months, after dark, where children go to be active.