Tony Killeen (Clare, Fianna Fail)

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Sheehan as ucht an t-ábhar seo a ardú inniu. I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Coughlan. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the Dáil the Government's strategy for capital investment in school building projects and also to outline the current position regarding to Kinsale community school.

Modernising facilities in our existing building stock as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth present a significant challenge. The Government has shown a consistent determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and ensure that the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. The allocation of funding for school buildings in 2010 is a little under €579 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 it will permit the continuation of the Department's programme of sustained investment in primary and post primary schools.

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 based on the demographics of an area, proposed housing developments, condition of buildings, site capacity, etc., and leads 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 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.

The project for Kinsale community school has been assigned a band rating of 2.1 under the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. A band rating of 2.1 means there is a deficit of mainstream accommodation in the school and the deficit constitutes a substantial and significant proportion of the schools overall accommodation needs.

All major projects on the Department's capital programme progress through the same structured process of architectural planning, which is divided into clearly defined stages. There are five stages involved in the progression of major school building projects through architectural planning. These stages are set out in the Department's design team procedures and are necessary to comply with Department of Finance guidelines which require that capital projects be fully designed prior to going to tender. They also ensure proper cost management of capital projects and facilitate compliance with statutory and public procurement requirements.

The project for Kinsale community school was announced earlier this year for the appointment of a design team. Subsequently, the National Council for Special Education advised the Department of Education and Skills of the need for an autistic spectrum disorders unit at post-primary level in that catchment area. A revised schedule of accommodation providing for additional accommodation for such a unit was issued to the school at the end of August.

The tender process for appointment of a design team for Kinsale community school will commence shortly as part of a bundle of schools tendering in the corning weeks. The brief for the project includes the construction of an extension of approximately 4,500 sq. m. plus associated refurbishment and site works. This brief will provide suitable accommodation for a long-term projected enrolment of up to 850 pupils in Kinsale community school.

The progression of all large scale building projects, including this one, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered in the context of the Department's multi-annual school building and modernisation programme for 2011 and subsequent years. However, in light of competing demands on the capital budget of the Department and taking into account the early stage at which this project currently stands, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project to completion of tender and construction.

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