Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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I welcome the opportunity to raise this matter, which is of considerable importance in terms of the safety of the students attending Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar, and greatly concerns parents and the board of management of the school. Coláiste Mhuire is one of a number of secondary schools in Mullingar and my own alma mater. I remember attending the school in the late 1960s.

I appeal to the Minister for Education and Science to provide the funding to complete the entrance to the school, the work on which was begun at the request of her Department. The original vehicle entrance to the school passed through the primary school playground. Annual intake at the school was 110 pupils but increased this year to 130, with many more on the waiting list. Last year, a new extension was added to the school's already fine building. It is a tremendous educational establishment and, like the other schools in Mullingar, has achieved strong academic results for its students.

A new entrance is essential from a health and safety perspective. The original entrance through the playground was not a danger in the past when traffic was lighter and mostly pedestrian. Now, however, a significant volume of traffic passes through the entrance, which is located beside Mullingar cathedral and Garda station.

The school made two applications to the Department. It first applied under the emergency fund scheme but was told to apply under the summer works scheme. As soon as the school applied under the latter scheme, however, it was told that the Department had no more money. Talk about running around in circles. The essential issue of safety has not yet been addressed. A few minor accidents have occurred at the original entrance but, thankfully, none was serious.

The new extension to Coláiste Mhuire was opened with great fanfare by the Minister, an event I was delighted to attend as a former pupil of the school. After the opening of the extension, the school was advised to desist from using the original entrance and to construct a new entrance. Planning permission was received for the project and it was then put to tender. The lowest bid for the work was €160,000. However, funding under the summer works scheme for 2006 has been refused.

The principal, board of management, parents association and the pupils have asked me to intervene in this important matter and to help ensure that a safe entrance is constructed. All the school needs is €160,00 but, even if it were funded to the extent of €100,000, the parents association and board of management could raise the remaining funds.

This safety issue has caused great concern to everybody involved. I will not compare €160,000 with the vast sums wasted on other projects over recent years. In the context of our children's safety, €160,000 is a small figure. If an accident occurred involving one of the students because of the Department's failure to provide the funds to complete the entrance, what would we say? We have an opportunity at present to prevent an accident by completing the entrance to this excellent 600-pupil school. I urge the Minister to provide the necessary funds.

Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter which affords me the opportunity to outline to the House the position of the Department of Education and Science on capital investment at Coláiste Mhuire, Mullingar.

Modernising the facilities in our 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task given the legacy of decades of under-investment in this area as well as the need to respond to emerging demands in areas of rapid population growth. Nonetheless, this Government has shown its determination to improve the condition of school buildings and ensure that appropriate facilities are in put place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum.

In this regard, the Government has invested in the largest school building programme in the history of the State. Between 1998 and the end of 2004, almost €2 billion was invested in school buildings and approximately 7,500 large and small projects were completed in schools, including 130 brand new schools and 510 large-scale refurbishments and extensions. Funding for school building and renovation projects has increased five-fold since 1997. In 2006, €491 million will be spent on school building projects compared with €92 million in 1997. In its own right, the 2006 allocation represents an increase of more than 9% in real terms on the 2005 allocation.

As the Deputy will be aware, at the end of last year, the Department of Education and Science outlined its spending plans for primary and post-primary schools for 2006. With €491 million to be spent on school buildings, more than 1,300 projects will be active in schools throughout the country. This significant investment will allow the Department to continue to progress its programme of school building and modernisation, which includes improving the equipment needed for new technologies.

With regard to capital investment at Coláiste Mhuire, in September 2002, the Department of Education and Science approved a large extension project of more than 1,300 sq. m. at a cost of €2.8 million. This extension consisted of two general classrooms, ten specialist rooms and a number of general areas. The project was completed in late 2004.

The school made an application to the Department for capital grant aid for a new entrance under the 2006 summer works scheme. The application was examined by the Department's school planning section but was not approved because a large number of other applications received in respect of projects had a higher priority under the terms of the summer works scheme. Projects totalling more than €84 million across 824 schools were approved under the 2006 summer works scheme earlier this year. The Deputy will be aware that the Department recently published details of the 2007 summer works scheme and it is open to the school authorities in question to apply under this scheme if it wishes to be considered for funding for the proposed improvement works.

I will speak to the Minister with regard to this project. My late father taught in Coláiste Mhuire a long time ago, so I would certainly like to see the entrance built.