Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As Deputy Higgins will know, there is a right to education. That right to education will be vindicated in the communities she represents as well. The Department of Education is very successfully implementing a school building programme. It has received a further allocation in the budget next year of €490 million. I am working closely with the Minister, Deputy Foley, and Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, to make sure new school building projects and extensions to existing schools can be progressed through the system. The Department has a good way of delivering projects and our forward planning unit is working hard with the Department of Education's planning and building unit to make sure they are in the right place where there are capacity issues.

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