John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I am responding on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the strategy for capital investment in education projects and the current position on Ballygarvan national school.

The allocation of funding for school buildings in 2010 is just under €579 million, including the carryover of €72 million deferred from 2009. This represents a significant investment in the schools building and modernisation programme. This amount 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 the Department's programme of sustained investment in primary and post-primary schools.

With regard to Ballygarvan national school, the proposed project, to construct a new school building, was one of 25 that the Minister announced would commence architectural planning in February 2009. Since then, officials have prepared detailed drawings and the local authority facilitated a number of preplanning meetings prior to the lodgement of a planning application. Following the preplanning meetings, the Department addressed the issues raised by the local authority and submitted a planning application for the new school. The local authority subsequently issued an additional information request, which raised some new issues. The Department responded to the additional information request in full. I understand the local authority has recently issued a further additional information request raising further issues. Officials are currently preparing a response to this second additional information request.

With regard to the acquisition of the site, the Deputy may be aware that the proposed site consists of three separate pieces of land in the ownership of the Catholic diocesan authority, Cork County Council and a private landowner. The Bishop of Cork and Ross, as patron of the school, has agreed to acquire the land in the ownership of Cork County Council and the private landowner to facilitate the proposed building project.

Any decision to progress this project is contingent, among other things, on the receipt of the necessary statutory approvals and the completion by the school patron of the acquisition of the site for the proposed new school building.

A reply to the further request for information will be prepared by the Department and submitted as soon as possible. When a decision regarding planning permission is made, the Department will examine the implications for the project. The progression of the project to construction will be given further consideration at that point. The Department will continue to liaise with the patron and the school authorities regarding the proposed project.

See this speech in context