Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I am replying to this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I thank the Deputy for raising this issues as it allows me to outline the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and to explain the current position in regard to the school to which the Deputy refers.

The modernisation of facilities in existing building stock and the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth represent a significant challenge. The Government has shown a consistent determination to improve the condition of school buildings and to ensure the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. The emphasis, however, will continue to be on new schools and extensions to provide additionality in rapidly developing areas.

All applications for capital funding are assessed in the planning and building unit of my 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, site capacity and so on, 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 schools building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need. This is reflected in the band rating assigned to a project. In other words, a proposed building project moves through the system commensurate with the band rating assigned to it. There are four band ratings, 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 there is a high demand for pupil places, while a band four project makes provision for desirable but not necessarily urgent or essential facilities, such as a library or new sports hall.

In the case of St. Joseph's national school, Bonniconlon, the brief is to provide accommodation for a long-term projected staffing of a principal and two mainstream class teachers plus ancillary accommodation. The project, which was assigned a band rating of 2.2, is at an advanced stage of architectural planning and planning permission has been received. However, given the competing demands on my Department's capital budget, it is not possible at this stage to be precise about when this project will go to construction.

The progression of all large-scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction is dependent on the prioritisation of competing demands on the funding available under my Department's capital budget. These projects will be considered in the context of the Department's multi-annual schools building and modernisation programme. The allocation for school buildings in 2009 is €581 million. This represents a significant investment in the schools building and modernisation programme. This level of funding, at a time of great pressure on public finances, is a sign of the Government's commitment to investing in school infrastructure and will permit the continuation of progress in the overall improvement of school accommodation. Under the recovery plan announced recently by the Taoiseach, a further €75 million has been allocated to the schools building programme for 2009.

I thank the Deputy again for affording me the opportunity to outline the current position regarding the school building project for St. Joseph's national school.

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