Michael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for affording me the opportunity to outline to the House my Department's position on the proposed new school at Eglish. Eglish national school is a co-educational facility with a current enrolment of 48 pupils. The school has a principal, a mainstream assistant and a resource teacher for Travellers.

An application for capital funding towards the provision of a new school building has been received from Eglish national school. The long-term projected staffing assessment and the further progression of the proposed building project is under consideration. In the interim, officials in my Department have been in contact with the school management regarding the provision of temporary accommodation. Additional information is expected from the school management shortly and when this documentation is received the school authority will be notified of the position without delay.

I will not refer to the money spent in the past; suffice it to say that, under the national development plan, almost €4.5 billion will be invested in schools. This is an unprecedented level of capital investment which reflects the commitment of the Government to continue its programme of sustained investment in primary and post-primary schools. This investment will facilitate the provision of new schools and extensions in developing areas and the improvement of existing schools, through the provision of replacement schools, extensions or large-scale refurbishments over the coming years.

The progression of all large-scale building projects from initial design stage through to construction is considered on an ongoing basis in the context of the national development plan and the Department's multi-annual schools building and modernisation programme. The proposed project for Eglish national school likewise will be considered in that context. I assure the Deputy that the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, is committed to providing suitable high-quality accommodation for Eglish national school at the earliest possible date.

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