Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

The Government has invested in the largest school building programme in the history of the State. Between 1998 and the end of 2004, almost €2 billion was invested in school buildings and approximately 7,500 large and small projects were completed in schools, including 130 new schools and 510 large-scale refurbishments and extensions. Funding for school building and renovation projects has increased fivefold since 1997. In 2005, €493 million will be spent on school building projects compared with just €92 million in 1997.

Of the €2 billion that has been invested in school buildings since 1999, only €14.5 million, or 0.7%, was provided to fee-charging second level schools for building and refurbishment works. Last year just over €970,000 in capital funding was given to fee-paying schools. This represents 0.29% of total expenditure on school buildings in 2004.

Almost 1,200 schools will benefit from the announcements that I have made so far this year with regard to the school buildings and modernisation programme. The list of projects approved to date includes a total allocation of €493 million, with €270 million for primary and €223 million for post-primary schools. The breakdown of projects is as follows: 122 large-scale projects to tender and construction over the next 12 to 15 months, 97 projects under the small schools initiative, 75 projects under the permanent accommodation initiative, 140 prefabs, 43 projects authorised to enter design phase, 590 summer works projects and 124 projects approved for progress through architectural planning. A total of 1,191 schools will benefit from this year's announcements.

Only ten of the building projects funded by my Department this year are in fee-charging schools. Schools building projects, whether for fee-charging schools or schools in the free education scheme, are selected for inclusion in the schools' building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need using published criteria.

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