Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

Construction work on 150 devolved projects under the permanent accommodation scheme will provide 8,000 additional places in existing primary schools. In the post-primary sector, construction work will be completed on 19 large-scale projects, which will provide 2,400 permanent school places in four new schools, and additional accommodation and refurbishment works in 15 schools that will benefit more than 7,000 pupil attendees. The funding will also enable the purchase of sites to facilitate the smooth delivery of the school building programme, particularly in rapidly developing areas, and the progression of new projects through architectural planning and design stages.

On 1 February, the Minister for Education and Science announced the first tranche of projects that will be proceeding to construction this year. Further announcements will be made during the course of the year. Construction is also due to start in 2008 on the first bundle of public private partnership schools, while further PPPs will be offered to the market next year with a view to building work commencing in later years. This is an enormous programme of work by any standard and, while there will continue to be a focus during the year on providing extra places in developing areas, the Department will also be delivering improvements in the quality of existing primary and post-primary school accommodation throughout the country. The emphasis, however, will be on new schools and extensions to provide additionality in rapidly developing areas.

Turning to the project of particular concern to the Deputies, it will consist of the construction of a new 24-classroom school of approximately 3,562 sq. m. with three new ball courts and two junior play areas. This project is currently at stage three of architectural planning. Following on from a review of a revised stage three submission, additional mechanical and electrical information was requested from the school's design team. When a response to this has been received, officials in the Department will evaluate the documentation.

The project attracts a band two rating and, as with all large-scale building projects, progression through to the construction phase will be considered on an ongoing basis in the context of the band rating assigned to the project and in the context of the Department's multiannual school building and modernisation programme.

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. During the lifetime of the national development plan, the Government is providing funding of €4.5 billion for school buildings. This will be the largest investment programme in schools in the history of the State and will enable the Department to ensure that school places are available where necessary.

This investment will allow the Department to continue the school building programme that commenced during the lifetime of the last national development plan, when considerably more than €2.6 billion was invested in school development, which delivered more than 7,800 projects.

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