Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter as it gives me the opportunity to outline to the House the strategy of the Department of Education and Science for capital investment in education projects and also to outline the position regarding the proposed amalgamation of the national schools in Kanturk, County Cork. The enrolment at St Colman's boys' national school, Kanturk, has been decreasing in recent years, from 111 pupils in 1998-99 to 98 pupils in September 2003. The school has a staffing of principal and three mainstream assistants, one permanent learning support teacher and one permanent resource teacher. Scoil Náisiúnta Chlochair is a co-educational school in the town which enrols boys in junior and senior infants only. Enrolments have increased slightly in recent years from 158 pupils in 1998-99 to 167 pupils in September 2003. The school has a staffing of principal and five mainstream assistants. In 2001 an amalgamation between the two schools was proposed by the school authorities and all parties expressed agreement to the amalgamation in 2002.

A technical inspection of the school and site was carried out at this time and a recommendation was made that the convent school could accommodate the amalgamated school on its premises as a medium-term solution. The recommendation was that a new school on a greenfield site should be provided as a long-term solution. The purchase of a site and the advancement of the school's building project to architectural planning will depend on the budgetary provision for 2005 and subsequent years.

The 2004 school building programme at primary and post-primary level amounts to €387 million and outlines details of more than 200 large scale projects proceeding to construction, 120 projects recently completed or under construction and more than 400 at various stages of the architectural planning process. When publishing the 2004 school building programme, the Department outlined that its strategy will be grounded in capital investment based on multi-annual allocations. Officials from the Department of Education and Science are reviewing all projects which were not authorised to proceed to construction as part of the 2004 school building programme with a view to including them as part of a multi-annual school building programme from 2005. The national schools referred to by the Deputy will be considered in this process and the Department expects to be in a position to make further announcements on this matter in the course of the year.

I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House the method used by the Department of Education and Science in determining in an open and transparent way how projects are included for funding in the school building programme and to assure the House that this school and all others will be treated in a fair and equitable manner by the Minister and his staff at the Department of Education and Science.

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