Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

Further to my reply to Question No. 56 of 13 November 2007, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that my Department's developing areas unit has been established.

To date, 11 members of staff have been redeployed to the unit, comprising one principal officer, one assistant principal officer, one senior architect, one architectural assistant, three higher executive officers and four executive officers.

As some of these staff would have been looking after developing areas anyway, the consolidation of effort in the new unit will ensure that they are more effectively deployed. The process of filling some of the vacancies arising from the redeployment of staff to the new unit from other areas is in train. A further five additional posts, including a professional planner, have been approved for the unit. The necessary recruitment arrangements are being put in place. The staffing of the unit will be kept under review in light of the evolution of its work programme.

My Department has already taken a number of steps to improve provision for developing areas in recent years. More effective forward planning has been put in place through greater co-operation with local authorities and the publication of ten-year area development plans. Innovations such as the use of generic repeat designs, and design and build contracts have been introduced to ensure that new buildings can be delivered much faster. Greater authority has been devolved to local school management to manage and deliver small building works, thereby freeing up my Department to concentrate on larger projects.

All these developments have facilitated the provision of extra school places in extensions and new schools in developing areas all over the country. The Government is very conscious of the need to ensure timely provision of extra accommodation for the estimated 100,000 extra children who will enter our primary schools over the next seven years or so. To that end, an additional €95 million, an increase of 30%, is being provided for primary school buildings in 2008, bringing total capital expenditure on the building programme to nearly €600 million next year.

The €4.5 billion included in the national development plan for school buildings will enable my Department to continue to take a proactive approach to the provision of modern school accommodation across the country, but particularly in developing areas, over the coming years.

See this speech in context