Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to outline the current position in respect of the proposed building project at Coláiste Pobail Naomh Mhuire in Buttevant, County Cork.

All applications for capital funding are assessed in the school planning and building unit of the Department of Education and Science. The assessment process determines the extent and type of accommodation needed at each school, based on such matters as the demographics of the local area, any proposed housing developments in the locality, the condition of the school buildings, and the capacity of the proposed site. That process ultimately leads to the determination of an appropriate accommodation solution. As part of this process, each proposed project is assigned a band rating under the 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 that is assigned to them. There are four band ratings, of which band 1 is the highest and band 4 the lowest. Band 1 projects, for example, include the provision of buildings where none currently exists, but there is a high demand for pupil places. Band 4 projects are those in which facilities are desirable but not necessarily urgent or essential. Each band rating has a number of sub-categories which more specifically describe the type of works needed and the urgency attaching to them.

Coláiste Pobail Naomh Mhuire in Buttevant is the sole post-primary education provider in Buttevant. It operates under the aegis of County Cork VEC and has a current enrolment of 192 pupils. Enrolments at the school are stable. The VEC applied to the Department of Education and Science for capital funding to provide a new school building for Coláiste Pobail Naomh Mhuire on a greenfield site. The proposed new school building was to cater for a long-term projected enrolment of 325 pupils. The project reached an early stage of architectural planning in 2001. At that time, the VEC identified a site for the new school. However, acquisition of the site was not finalised for a number of reasons. In the intervening period, the Department became concerned about declining enrolments in the school. In that light, its planning and building unit conducted a review of second level education provision in the Buttevant area. This review took into account factors such as enrolment trends at the school, the impact of projected housing developments and existing post-primary school provision in the general area. On completion of this review, the Department affirmed its original decision that a new school on a greenfield site should be provided to cater for a long-term projected enrolment of 325 pupils. Approval was given to County Cork VEC to identify a suitable site to enable the provision of this building. A site has been acquired for that purpose. Consistent with the approach that the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, has outlined, the application was assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a band 2 rating. Due to the level of demand on my Department's capital budget, unfortunately, the Minister is not in a position to provide an indicative timeframe as to when this project can proceed further.

Deputy Sherlock will appreciate that modernising facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task in light of the decades of under-investment in this area and the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe wants to assure the Deputy that the Government has a sincere determination to ensure that all children are educated in appropriate facilities to enable the delivery of a broad and balanced curriculum. This is evidenced by the scale of funding made available for school buildings under the former and current national development plans. Thousands of school building projects were carried out under the last national development plan to provide new and modernised educational infrastructure. Thousands more will be carried out under the new national development plan. Projects will be advanced incrementally through the system over time on a prioritised basis, as and when the funding situation allows. I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter. The Department's planning and building unit is well aware of the needs of Coláiste Pobail Naomh Mhuire. It will be in contact with the VEC when it is in a position to advance the project further.

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