Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

Sa chéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom buíochas ó chroí a ghabháil leis an Teachta Ó hUiginn as ucht an t-ábhar an-tábhachtach seo a ardú. Tá an Teachta mar ionadaí náisiúnta don cheantar le blianta fada agus tá a lán oibre iontach déanta aige. Tá spéis speisialta aige sa Ghaeilge, sa cheantar agus san oideachas. Tugann sé a lán cúnamh do mhuintir na háite. Tá an spéis céanna agam sa Ghaeilge, san oideachas agus sa teanga. Ní raibh an t-ádh agam riamh bheith i mo ionadaí náisiúnta don cheantar, ach bhí mé i mo comhairleoir áitiúil don cheantar ar feadh sé bliana. Tréaslaím leis an Teachta as ucht an t-ábhar seo a ardú arís. Déanfaidh mé mo dhícheall freagra cruinn a thabhairt don Teach.

I thank Deputy Michael D. Higgins for raising this matter and affording me an opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects. I will outline the position of the Department of Education and Science on the development of education provision in Gaelscoil de hÍde, Órán Mór, Contae na Gaillimhe. The modernisation of facilities in this country's 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task, given the legacy of decades of under-investment in this area. The Government needs to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth, particularly urban and rural areas like those in County Galway.

Since it took office, the Government has shown a focused determination to improve the condition of school buildings and to ensure that appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. As evidence of this commitment, over €540 million will be spent on school building and modernisation projects in the coming year. That money will be spent on primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. Approximately €3 billion has been invested in school buildings since 1997, delivering over 7,800 school building projects. Further investment of over €540 million is being made to build on such achievements, focusing particularly on the provision of school accommodation in places where the population is growing at a rapid rate. As further evidence of the Government's commitment, it intends to invest €4.5 billion in schools over the coming years under the new national development plan, which was published recently.

I am sure Deputy Higgins agrees that the record level of investment is a positive testament to the high priority that the Government attaches to ensuring that this country's school accommodation is of the highest possible standard. Responsibility for smaller projects has been devolved to school level to reduce red tape and to allow projects to move faster. Standard designs have been developed for eight and 16 classroom schools to facilitate the speedier delivery of projects and save on design fees. The design and build method is used to expedite delivery when the use of standard designs is not possible. Such initiatives, when taken with the unprecedented level of funding that is available, are ensuring that schools building projects are delivered in the fastest possible timeframe.

Enrolments at Gaelscoil de hÍde in Oranmore, which is a co-educational primary school in a growing area, have increased from 125 in 2002 to 170 in 2007. Officials in the Department of Education and Science have completed an assessment of the application for a new build school. The school's long-term projected staffing level — a principal and 16 mainstream teachers — has been notified to the school authorities. The Office of Public Works, which generally acts on behalf of the Department of Education and Science in acquiring sites for schools, has been asked to source a suitable site for Gaelscoil de hÍde. A number of sites have been identified and the OPW has commenced negotiations on the most suitable of them. In tandem with the site acquisition process, the Department announced in November 2006 that the project had been approved to proceed to the appointment of a design team.

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