Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I can well understand the frustration of parents waiting for a school. That demonstrates the wider context in which the previous discussion took place. There is huge pressure on capital budgets to meet expanding needs when we are in the fortunate position of having increasing numbers of children entering our school. The major building project for St. Joseph's national school is at an advanced stage of architectural planning: stage 2b - detailed design. This includes securing the statutory approvals, as the Deputy said, such as planning permission, fire certificate and disability access certificate, and the preparation of tender documents. These have all been completed and the design team has submitted written confirmation that it is satisfied that the tender documents are complete, correct and in compliance with the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2014 and the Department's tender documentation requirements.

This project is included in the six-year programme announced in 2015 to go to tender and construction. The project brief is for a new build 16-classroom school with a special needs unit. The Deputy will be aware of the funding pressures on the capital programme and the need to focus resources on the provision of additional school places to meet demographic needs. The Department's budget for 2017 was €693 million, of which €531 million was expended on the schools capital programme. This included 46 major projects. The next stages are commencement of a pre-qualification process, progression to tender and construction. They have to be decided within the context of the funding. We have to make sure that if we release projects, they are in line with our funding profiles. The position is that officials from my Department will revert to the school regarding a timeframe for progression of this project by the end of next week.

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