Jimmy Deenihan (Kerry North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this matter on the Adjournment. Scoil Eoin in Balluanach, Tralee, was established in 1890 and extended in 1929 and 1960. It is a Mercy convent school with a Mercy ethos. Its present enrolment is 620 pupils and the staffing complement on 30 September 2004 included 31 teachers, eight special needs assistants, a caretaker and a secretary. By September 2005, however, the school will lose two teachers as a consequence of being two pupils short for the staffing schedule last September. The school will also be affected if the new weighted system is introduced.

Scoil Eoin has 22 mainstream classes and two classes for autistic pupils and it has a variety of classroom accommodation. The oldest section facing the main road has six rooms with very limited space. The main building dating from 1960 has six classrooms which are small by modern standards and unsuitable to meet the educational needs of young children. There are 12 prefabricated classrooms at the back of the school and other ancillary rooms including offices and a school hall. The school accommodation has been well maintained over the years. It is a credit to all those responsible for its upkeep, including the principal, teachers and caretaker, that the impression one gets on visiting the school is that the buildings are in great condition.

However, the reality is different and there is a need for major improvement in the school accommodation. The adjacent post-primary school was moved to new premises in Mounthawk, Caherslee, Tralee, some years ago. This movement will facilitate the redevelopment of this important educational centre to provide modern classroom facilities, a better entrance, improved parking arrangements and a general refurbishment of the existing accommodation.

The prefabricated classrooms accommodate 304 pupils, while 134 students are based in the 1960 building and 182 in the 1890 building. The only modification to the oldest part of the school, which must be one of the oldest school buildings in the country, is that central heating was installed some time ago. A request was made by the board of management of the Department of Education of Science for a total rebuild in 2001. At the request of the Department, a feasibility report was presented by the board in late 2002. There has been no response to this report.

Will the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, inform the Minister that the ideal solution is to refurbish the existing building as set out in the feasibility study and to build on the site on which the prefabs are based? A suggested move to a greenfield site would not suit the pupils and their families as it would involve a move some way out of town. Moreover, there would be significant expense involved in purchasing a site. The school is already based on a valuable two-acre site and the cost of a new site of the magnitude required would probably equal the cost of refurbishment.

The Minister, Deputy Hanafin, will visit Tralee tomorrow. Will the Minister of State ask her to visit Scoil Eoin on her way to visit the modern post-primary school at Mounthawk? She should see for herself the unacceptable situation whereby children are being taught in prefabs.

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Deenihan is indefatigable. I make this reply on behalf of the Minister who will undoubtedly be made aware of the problems of the school in the course of her visitation to Tralee tomorrow. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter as it affords me the opportunity to outline to the House the strategy of the Department of Education and Science for capital investment in education projects. I will also outline the position regarding Scoil Eoin in Tralee.

Modernising facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task given the legacy of decades of underinvestment in this area as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth. Nevertheless, since taking office, the Government has shown a sincere determination to improve the condition of school buildings and to ensure the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum.

We have progressively increased funding for the school modernisation programme in recent years to achieve our goal with an aggregate total of almost €2 billion allocated for this purpose since 1998, the largest investment programme in the history of the State. Since the beginning of the year, the Department of Education and Science has made a number of announcements relating to the schools building and modernisation programme. This year alone, €270 million will be allocated to primary schools and €223 million to post­primary schools for building works. This represents an increase of 14% on the 2004 allocation.

The programmes supported will include 141 major building projects already on site and a further 28 due to commence in the coming weeks and 122 major schools building projects which will prepare tenders and move to construction during 2005. Some 192 primary schools have been invited to take part in the small and rural schools initiative and the devolved scheme for providing additional accommodation. Up to 120 schools have been given approval to rent temporary premises pending delivery of a permanent solution to their long-term accommodation needs and 590 schools were recently given approval to complete essential small-scale projects under the summer works scheme. In addition, 43 schools have been authorised to start architectural planning of their major projects. Some 124 schools have been approved to progress through the architectural planning process with immediate effect, ranging from new schools building projects to extensions and refurbishment projects, allowing for the continuous roll-out of projects under the schools building and modernisation programme.

The new schools building and modernisation programme for 2005 to 2009 will be underpinned not only by a significant increase in overall funding but also by major improvements in the administration of the funding. Devolving more funding to local level through the summer works scheme and the small and rural schools initiative will allow schools to move ahead much more quickly with smaller projects while also delivering better value for money.

The particular position in regard to Scoil Eoin, Tralee is as follows. The school authority made an application to my Department in 2000 to relocate to the adjacent secondary school campus which became vacant with the opening of the new secondary school at Mounthawk on 1 September 2001. The application was assessed in the school planning section of my Department and it was agreed that the long-term accommodation needs for Scoil Eoin would be to provide accommodation for a staffing of a principal plus 22 mainstream teachers and ancillary staff.

A feasibility study has been received which outlines a number of options for the future development of Scoil Eoin. Detailed examination of this feasibility study regarding the options for the provision of the required level of accommodation is under way to determine the best way forward. As soon as a decision is taken on the best solution to meet the school's current and future accommodation needs, the project will be progressed in the context of the schools building and modernisation programme for 2005 to 2009.

I thank the Deputy for the opportunity to outline the position in regard to this particular school project and to highlight the significant work being undertaken by my Department in implementing the schools building and modernisation programme to ensure that infrastructure of the highest standard is available for all our schoolgoing population.