Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the position with regard to the proposed building project for St. Brigid's national school, Palmerstown, Dublin 20.

St. Brigid's national school is a fully vertical, all-girls school, which means it caters for pupils from junior infants to sixth class, inclusive. It has a current enrolment of 399 pupils. Enrolment at the school has decreased by 12% over the past five years. The school has a staffing level of a principal, 15 mainstream teachers and five special education teachers. The board of management of the school has applied to the Department for large-scale capital funding for an extension and refurbishment project. The brief for the proposed project is to upgrade and extend the existing accommodation. The upgrade will include the replacement of all windows, flat roof remediation and mechanical and electrical works

The additional accommodation being provided will comprise 739 sq. m., which will include the provision of general classrooms and enhanced staff facilities. The proposed project is at stage six of the architectural planning process, which is tender action stage. The tender report was submitted to the Department in November 2007.

As the Minister has indicated in the House many times, the Department must prioritise how it spends its capital funding to ensure it is first targeted at areas and schools most in need. To enable this, each application is assessed against published prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects. These criteria were formulated following consultation with the education partners. Under the criteria, each application, once assessed to determine the level and type of need presenting, is assigned a band rating. Projects are progressed from the initial design stages through to tender and construction commensurate with the band rating assigned to them and as funding is available.

The project for St. Brigid's national school has been assigned a band 2 rating, the second highest band rating possible. Higher band 1 rated projects address accommodation needs in rapidly developing areas where either no accommodation exists or the existing accommodation is not sufficient to meet the needs of a growing population. It also addresses the provision of accommodation for special needs pupils, structurally unsound buildings and the provision of accommodation to underpin rationalisations.

Given the extent of the demand on the Department's capital budget for projects in these categories, it is not possible for the Department to give an indicative timeframe as to when the project for St. Brigid's national school can be approved to proceed further. The Department's capital allocation for next year will amount to more than €581 million which will allow it to continue to invest significantly in school buildings throughout the country, provide additional school places, refurbish existing schools and invest in higher education infrastructure.

The Deputy will appreciate that it is only possible to meet all the school accommodation needs incrementally and over time and that an orderly and structured manner is critical to ensuring the most urgent needs are met first. This is ensured by the implementation of the prioritisation criteria which the Minister has outlined.

The Minister assures the Deputy that the progression of the project for St. Brigid's national school will be considered in this context and as the necessary funding becomes available. Again, I thank the Deputy for providing me with the opportunity to address the House on this matter and outline the current position.

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