Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Deputy Jim O'Keeffe for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House on behalf the Minister for Education and Science how projects are selected for inclusion in a school building programme and what the position is for the proposed building project for Kinsale community school in his constituency.

First, by way of background, all applications for capital funding are assessed in the planning and building unit of the Department. The assessment process determines the extent and type of need presenting, based on the demographics of an area, proposed housing developments, condition of buildings and site capacity, leading ultimately to an appropriate accommodation solution. As part of this process, a project is assigned a band rating under published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. These criteria were devised following consultation with the education partners.

Projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need. This is reflected in the band rating assigned to a project which indicates the urgency, type and extent of work required at a school. There are four band ratings overall, of which band one is the highest and band four the lowest. Band one projects, for example, include the provision of buildings where none currently exists but where there is a high demand for pupil places, while a band four project makes provision of desirable but not necessarily urgent or essential facilities. Building projects move through the school building and modernisation programme consistent with the band rating assigned to them.

As the Deputy will probably be aware, €586 million in public funding is being provided for school buildings this year. This will ensure the completion of work on 67 large-scale primary school projects that will deliver 7,000 additional permanent school places in new schools and 2,300 additional permanent school places in existing schools; construction work on 150 devolved projects under the permanent accommodation scheme, which 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 over 7,000 pupils; 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 the architectural planning and design stages.

On 1 February last, the Minister announced the first tranche of projects that will be proceeding to construction this year. Further announcements will be made as the budgetary position for 2008 allows. Construction is also due to begin in 2008 on the first bundle of public private partnership schools, while further ones 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 standards. The emphasis, however, will be on new schools and extensions to provide additionality in rapidly developing areas where there is currently insufficient school accommodation available to meet the heavy demand for places.

This is the background. I fully appreciate that Deputy O'Keeffe is particularly interested in what will happen to Kinsale community school which is a co-educational facility with a current enrolment of just short of 650 pupils. As Deputy O'Keeffe indicated, the school has applied for an extension and the project has been assigned a band 2 rating. A schedule of overall accommodation has been agreed with the board of management to cater for the long-term enrolment of 850 pupils, given an expansion in that region. The next step is the appointment of a design team to commence architectural planning. This will be considered in the context of the band rating assigned to the project which I have already explained is band 2. There is a common approach to all applications for large-scale capital funding. Contact will be made directly with the school authority when the Department is in a position to approve this project.

I again thank the Deputy for raising this matter and point out that over the lifetime of the current national development plan, the Government is providing funding of €4.5 billion for school buildings. I refer to the overall plan over a longer period but I fully appreciate the Deputy and his colleagues in the constituency are concerned about this specific school and I will bring the strong views he expressed to the attention of the Minister at the first available opportunity.

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