Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn. I thank the Deputy for raising this matter and giving me an opportunity to outline to the House the position of the Department of Education and Skills regarding the allocation of funding for Abbeystrewry national school near Skibbereen in County Cork. In July 2008, the Department introduced the additional accommodation scheme, which gives schools with an urgent and pressing need for additional accommodation that is likely to last for more than three years the option of using a devolved grant to purchase prefabricated classrooms or construct permanent classrooms. A central tenet of the scheme is that responsibility for the management of a project, including cost control, rests with the school authorities. Schools are informed of this in their approval letters.

In March 2010, Abbeystrewry national school was approved funding of €130,000 under the additional accommodation scheme to enable it to provide an extension consisting of an 80 sq. m. mainstream classroom and a 25 sq. m. resource room. In July 2010, the school authorities wrote to the Department to ask for additional funding for a staffroom and a corridor, which were needed because of increasing staff numbers. Following an examination of the school's application, the Department advised the school authorities that as the additional accommodation scheme is designed to cater for immediate and urgently needed classroom accommodation, it was not in a position to approve the school's request for ancillary accommodation. In August 2010, the school authorities again wrote to the Department to request further additional funding for ancillary works associated with the building project. The Department advised the school authorities that funding was not available for these works for the reasons that had been outlined in previous correspondence. The school appealed the Department's decision, providing detailed drawings and maps of the schools extension, in support of its appeal.

When the school's application was being reassessed, it emerged that the school had changed the scope of works for which the funding had originally been approved. The Department advised the school authorities that the appeal was unsuccessful and that it was satisfied that the grant provided was sufficient to provide the level of accommodation originally approved. The management authorities of Abbeystrewry national school were advised that the building works carried out were over and above those approved and, therefore, the onus was on the board of management to fund the costs of the extra works. Between 2006 and 2010, the school received over €327,000 in funding under the summer works scheme for roof works, replacement of windows, electrical upgrade and tarmac. Further funding for sewerage works was recently approved under the summer works scheme 2011.

I am sure the Deputy will appreciate there are many competing demands on the Department's capital resources. In this context, it must prioritise applications for the provision of much needed additional classroom accommodation. A total of €383 million will be spent under the Department's schools building programme this year. In the current economic climate, it is essential that costs are kept under control in the construction of school buildings and that those responsible ensure value for money is achieved for the taxpayer. In this way, the Minister can ensure the maximum number of projects are completed from within the funds available for the schools building programme. I thank the Deputy again for giving me an opportunity to outline the current position to the House.

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