Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Lowry for raising the matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the House the position of the Department of Education and Science regarding the urgent need to include Carrig national school in the school building programme. Modernising facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task given the legacy of decades of under-investment in this area as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth. Nonetheless, since taking office, the Government has shown a focused determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum.

Carrig national school is a co-educational primary school with a September 2006 enrolment of 91 pupils. Enrolments at the school have shown a slight increase in recent years, having increased from 72 pupils in 2002. The management authority of the school submitted an application under the small schools scheme of 2007 for accommodation appropriate to a four-teacher school. As the Deputy is aware, the Department of Education and Science has moved, where appropriate, towards a model of devolving funding to school authorities. Devolving of funding to school management authorities allows them to have control of their projects, assists in moving projects more quickly to tender and construction, and can also deliver better value for money. This particular devolved initiative was originally introduced on a pilot basis for 20 schools in the 2003 school building programme and due to the very positive feedback from schools has been extended in the school building programmes since then.

All applications received in the Department of Education and Science under this scheme, including the application from Carrig national school, are currently under active consideration and the list of successful applicants will be published as soon as possible. Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and allowing me to outline the progress being made under the school building and modernisation programme and the position in regard to Carrig national school on the border of Offaly and the great historic county of Tipperary.

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