Mary Wallace (Meath East, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Lynch for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to outline the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and to clarify the position regarding the provision of a new school at Ballintemple national school on Crab Lane in Cork city.

The modernisation of facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task given the legacy of decades of underinvestment in this area and the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth. Since the Government took office, it 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, €540 million is being spent on school building and modernisation projects this year, in primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. Some €3 billion has been invested in school buildings since 1997 to deliver over 7,800 school building projects. The further investment of €540 million will build on these achievements and focus on providing school accommodation in areas where the population is growing at a rapid rate. As further evidence of the Government's commitment in this area, funding of approximately €4.5 billion will be invested in schools under the national development plan over the coming years. I am sure the Deputy agrees that this record level of investment is a positive testament to the high priority the Government attaches to ensuring that school accommodation is of the highest standard possible. Responsibility for smaller projects has been devolved to school level to reduce red tape and allow projects to move faster. Standard designs have been developed for eight-classroom and 16-classroom schools to facilitate speedier delivery of projects and to save on design fees. The design and build method is used to expedite delivery when the use of standard designs is not possible. Taken together with the unprecedented level of funding available, these initiatives ensure that building projects are delivered in the fastest timeframe possible.

Ballintemple national school is a co-educational primary school with an enrolment of 211 pupils as at September 2007. Enrolments at the school have increased by 14% over the last five years. The school has a current staffing of a principal, eight mainstream class teachers and two permanent learning support and resource teachers. The school has submitted an application to the Department of Education and Science for capital funding towards the provision of a new school. The long-term staffing figure on which accommodation needs will be based has been determined and notified to the school authority. It has been agreed that appropriate accommodation should be provided to cater for a long-term projected staffing of principal and 12 mainstream assistants, as well as for appropriate ancillary accommodation. The school authorities were advised in September 2007 that the proposed site for the new school building was suitable for the construction of a new 12-classroom school and they could proceed with its acquisition from the SMA Fathers. While I take Deputy Lynch's point about the acquisition of the site being a formality, it is obvious that certain legal documentation, etc, will have to be drawn up to make the land transfer official. Perhaps that is the issue at stake. This building project will be considered in the context of the multi-annual schools building and modernisation programme. I thank Deputy Lynch again for raising this matter and allowing me to outline the progress being made under the building and modernisation programme and the position in relation to the provision for a new school building at Ballintemple in Cork city.

See this speech in context