Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Ó Concubhair agus táim ag freagraíocht thar ceann an tAire Parthalán Ó Caoímh.

I am happy to reply on behalf of my colleague, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, the Minister for Education and Science. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the Department's strategy for capital investment in education projects and to outline the current position with regard to the building project for Holy Rosary national school, Ballycragh, in Dublin 24.

Modernising facilities in the existing building stock, as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth, is a significant challenge and is one of the priorities of the Minister for Education and Science. The Government has dramatically increased investment in the school building programme to €656 million this year. 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. It will underpin a particular emphasis on the delivery of additional school places in rapidly developing areas while continuing to develop on the Government's commitment to delivering improvements in the quality of existing primary and post-primary accommodation throughout the country. It will also enable the purchase of sites to facilitate the smooth delivery of the school building programme, again with the focus being on site requirements in rapidly developing areas.

All applications for capital funding are assessed in the planning and building unit of the 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 etc., 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 school 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 overall, 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, while a band 4 project provides for desirable, but not necessarily urgent or essential, facilities, such as a library or a new sports hall. The building project for Holy Rosary national school has been assigned a band rating of 2.1 which means that the project is well positioned to progress when the necessary funding becomes available.

In relation to the Holy Rosary national school, the brief for the project is to provide for the construction of a new 24-classroom school of approximately 3,562 sq. m with three new ball courts and two junior play areas. The project is currently at an early stage of architectural planning.

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 the Department's capital budget. This project will be considered in the context of the Department's multi-annual school building and modernisation programme. The allocation for school buildings in 2009 is €656 million. This represents a significant investment in the school building and modernisation programme. This level of funding for the building programme, at a time of great pressure on public finances, is a sign of the real commitment of the Government to investing in school infrastructure and will permit the continuation of progress in the overall improvement of school accommodation.

I thank the Deputy again for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House how the Department intends to address the needs of Holy Rosary national school. However, in light of current economic circumstances and with competing demands on the capital budget of the Department, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the further progression of this project at this time.

I wish to refer to the use of funding allocated to Holy Rosary national school for temporary accommodation. This was discussed in the radio programme referred to by the Deputy. It was the current Minister who, last year, announced that schools which have been approved funding for temporary accommodation can avail of the option of using their grants either to purchase prefabs or to construct permanent classrooms for the same amount. Holy Rosary national school was approved for funding of €240,000 in 2008 for urgently required temporary accommodation. The Minister welcomes the approach taken by Holy Rosary in availing of this initiative to provide permanent classrooms within the funding allocated.

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