Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Níl sé seo an chéad uair a luaigh mé an gá atá ann suíomh a chur ar fáil do Gaelscoil de hÍde in Órán Mór. Tá sé scanallach go bhfuil an Gaelscoil, a bhunaíodh i 1994 agus a glacadh leis ar bhuan-fhoras a 1998, ag tosnú a dara deich mbliana gan aon suíomh buan a bheith ar fáil dos na 170 daltaí. Is mian liom freagra díreach a fháil ar na ceisteanna bunúsacha atá agam. An mbeidh an bord bainistíochta, na múinteoirí agus na tuismitheoirí in ann daltaí nua a ghlacadh an fhómhar seo chugainn?

I should say that what is taking place in relation to Gaelscoil de hÍde is little less than a disgrace. An appalling amount of cur i gcéill has been involved. The parents' action group was recently devastated to learn it could not proceed with architectural planning for the school. The Minister for Education and Science announced in November 2006 that Gaelscoil de hÍde had been "given the go-ahead to start architectural planning for a new school". However, at an information session organised by the schools building section of the Department of Education and Science in December 2006, the parents' group was explicitly told that the architectural planning process could not start until a site had been acquired. No concrete progress has been made on site acquisition or architectural planning for more than a year, since the parents' group met the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, on 1 February 2006. I was present when a delegation from the school expressed its frustration on other occasions.

The school, which was established in 1994, has been operating on a permanent basis since 1998, but it does not have a permanent building. Its 170 pupils are mostly housed in prefabricated accommodation on a site of less than half an acre. The school pays rent of €125,000 every year. The parents were told over a year ago that the school had been placed in band 1.1, which meant that it was an immediate priority. There have been some recent developments — we cannot protect ourselves from the time of the year that is in it. The school was visited by the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Deputy Parlon, when he was viewing the flooding in the region, which I am sure he will solve in the next few weeks. When the Minister of State and his representatives visited the school, I asked them a number of straight questions. How many sites have been investigated by the OPW? What is the status of any of the sites in question? When will the OPW inform the Department of Education and Science that a site has been identified? I addressed a further question explicitly to the Minister, Deputy Hanafin. Will the school's board of management, parents and teachers — as well as other parents who may wish to send their children to a scoil lán-Ghaelach — be able to accept children in September?

Oranmore, which is a rapidly expanding area, has been the victim of appallingly bad planning. Most recently, an application has been submitted to build hundreds of houses on a flood plain. It is interesting that Ministers and Ministers of State have come to Oranmore and meetings have been held, but we are no closer to locating a site for the school. Tá sé in am freagra a fháil. What stage is the process at? What progress has been made in the talks with a person who may give the school a site? When will the new school building open? An mbeidh sé ar chumas an scoil glacadh le daltaí i mí Mheán Fómhair seo chugainn? Ba mhaith liom freagra díreach a fháil. An mbeidh an scoil in ann é sin a dhéanamh, nó nach mbeidh?

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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Sa chéad dul síos, ba mhaith liom buíochas ó chroí a ghabháil leis an Teachta Ó hUiginn as ucht an t-ábhar an-tábhachtach seo a ardú. Tá an Teachta mar ionadaí náisiúnta don cheantar le blianta fada agus tá a lán oibre iontach déanta aige. Tá spéis speisialta aige sa Ghaeilge, sa cheantar agus san oideachas. Tugann sé a lán cúnamh do mhuintir na háite. Tá an spéis céanna agam sa Ghaeilge, san oideachas agus sa teanga. Ní raibh an t-ádh agam riamh bheith i mo ionadaí náisiúnta don cheantar, ach bhí mé i mo comhairleoir áitiúil don cheantar ar feadh sé bliana. Tréaslaím leis an Teachta as ucht an t-ábhar seo a ardú arís. Déanfaidh mé mo dhícheall freagra cruinn a thabhairt don Teach.

I thank Deputy Michael D. Higgins for raising this matter and affording me an opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects. I will outline the position of the Department of Education and Science on the development of education provision in Gaelscoil de hÍde, Órán Mór, Contae na Gaillimhe. The modernisation of facilities in this country's 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task, given the legacy of decades of under-investment in this area. The Government needs to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth, particularly urban and rural areas like those in County Galway.

Since it took office, the Government has shown a focused determination to improve the condition of school buildings and to ensure that appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. As evidence of this commitment, over €540 million will be spent on school building and modernisation projects in the coming year. That money will be spent on primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. Approximately €3 billion has been invested in school buildings since 1997, delivering over 7,800 school building projects. Further investment of over €540 million is being made to build on such achievements, focusing particularly on the provision of school accommodation in places where the population is growing at a rapid rate. As further evidence of the Government's commitment, it intends to invest €4.5 billion in schools over the coming years under the new national development plan, which was published recently.

I am sure Deputy Higgins agrees that the record level of investment is a positive testament to the high priority that the Government attaches to ensuring that this country's school accommodation is of the highest possible standard. Responsibility for smaller projects has been devolved to school level to reduce red tape and to allow projects to move faster. Standard designs have been developed for eight and 16 classroom schools to facilitate the speedier delivery of projects and save on design fees. The design and build method is used to expedite delivery when the use of standard designs is not possible. Such initiatives, when taken with the unprecedented level of funding that is available, are ensuring that schools building projects are delivered in the fastest possible timeframe.

Enrolments at Gaelscoil de hÍde in Oranmore, which is a co-educational primary school in a growing area, have increased from 125 in 2002 to 170 in 2007. Officials in the Department of Education and Science have completed an assessment of the application for a new build school. The school's long-term projected staffing level — a principal and 16 mainstream teachers — has been notified to the school authorities. The Office of Public Works, which generally acts on behalf of the Department of Education and Science in acquiring sites for schools, has been asked to source a suitable site for Gaelscoil de hÍde. A number of sites have been identified and the OPW has commenced negotiations on the most suitable of them. In tandem with the site acquisition process, the Department announced in November 2006 that the project had been approved to proceed to the appointment of a design team.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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It announced in December 2006 that the architectural planning process could not start.

Noel Treacy (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I am shocked. I thank the Deputy again for raising this matter and allowing me to outline the progress that is being made with the school building and modernisation programme, especially as it relates to Gaelscoil de hÍde. Tabharfaidh mé an breis eolais a thug an Teachta don Teach nóiméad ó shin don Aire amárach. Deimhneoidh mé an bhfuil an Roinn in ann aon rud a dhéanamh chun an suíomh seo a cheannach agus an conradh a shocrú chomh luath agus is féidir.

Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)
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Go raibh míle maith agat.