Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am informed that the enrolment of the school for 2017 and 2018 is 97 pupils. That represents a 28% increase over the past five years, so this is clearly an expanding school - with a growing number of pupils - that is responding to the needs that exist in the local community. In terms of the Department's capital budget, its first priority when it comes to school building is what it has to be, namely, building new schools in areas of increasing population. This is because we cannot have a situation whereby there are children looking into empty fields and not having schools to go to at all. A huge amount of the budget is now being taken up by building new schools, very often in rapidly expanding areas where there are new families and no schools at all. That has to be the priority. Obviously, once that is covered, we can then move on to improving, upgrading and extending older schools. As I said, what is intended now is that a site visit will take place. When that happens, the Minister for Education and Skills will update the Deputy on the progress being made.

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