Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

As he has said before, he does not want to mislead this school or indeed any other school in the same situation by making any suggestions to the contrary.

The Minister is currently in the process of reviewing with his officials the Department's spending plans for this year. This review will not be complete for some time and he will not be making any decision on further capital expenditure until that process is complete. Although under the last national development plan over 7,800 building projects were delivered to provide new and modernised educational infrastructure, the reality is that not all needs can be met together under the last national development plan. They must be met incrementally and in order of priority.

This is why the Department consulted the education partners with regard to prioritisation criteria for the allocation of large-scale capital funding and why these criteria are published. They are clear and unambiguous and they bring an openness and transparency as to how projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme. Not alone has their introduction improved the management of the building programme but they also ensure a clear cut selection process and an orderly advancement, over time, of all school building projects, with the most urgent need being addressed first. They are subject at all times, however, to the availability of funding. Having said that, the project for Ennis national school has a band one rating under the Department's prioritisation criteria. This means that it is well positioned to advance as soon as funding is available.

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