Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

The letter of 10 May from an official in the planning section in the Department of Education and Science only gave false hope after many years of campaigning for additional classrooms. The school had been approved for a smaller extension in 2001 but was then told that it required, and would be given, 16 mainstream classrooms as well as ancillary accommodation. However, the letter neglected to state what band status the school had been given.

On 8 November, I received a letter from the school principal. She was under the impression that the school had been assigned category one or band one status. In response to a parliamentary question from me on 4 December, the Minister replied that applications for large-scale capital funding projects are assessed against published prioritisation criteria and, as such, the school had been assigned band two status. The Minister is shaking her head but that was in the reply I received on 4 December. The letter sent on 10 May was disingenuous, to say the least. The timing speaks for itself. It was sent to give people false hope, after years of campaigning, during a general election campaign and to buy votes. There is no other way to describe it.

I have put down a parliamentary question seeking the details of the published prioritisation criteria. I am seeking an explanation for how Enniskerry can only be assigned category two status, given its demographics, location and the fact that it is under serious pressure from surrounding areas as the other local schools are also full. I hope I will get as direct a response as the one I received on 4 December, which categorically states that the school has band two status, not band one. How was the school principal under the impression that the school had category one status? The school's projections are that there will be two extra classrooms of enrolments each year but it is the same size as it was 20 years ago. It was approved for a smaller extension six years ago but nothing has happened.

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