David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue this evening and I thank the Minister of State for coming in to respond. I wish to draw attention to an issue in east Cork, which is one of the highest growth areas in the country. The population in the town of Midleton and the area around it has increased by 22% from 25,000 to 30,000 in the past five years.

This raises the issue of the need for more school places at primary and second level. I am specifically concerned about second-level school places. There are four second-level schools in the area. Midleton CBS boys school is full and I understand that it was forced to turn away students this September. St. Mary's High School will be under pressure to do the same next year. St. Colman's Community College is almost full. Midleton College, which is a private college, is full, while St. Aloysius College in Carrigtohill is also full.

A situation is fast approaching where, in a few short years, there may not be enough places in east Cork for second-level students. I carried out a census of the primary schools and discovered that in the next five years, there will be 700 extra students seeking second-level places, which almost amounts to a new school.

I previously raised questions about this with the Minister and also wrote to the county manager. There are no plans to construct a new school. Will the Minister ask her officials to meet the principal teachers in all the schools? Somebody has to take leadership of this situation before it becomes a crisis, which is why I am raising it this evening. I do not want people knocking on my door in two years time because their children do not have second-level places.

The population has increased dramatically over time. I wrote to the county manager in July expressing concern about this. He replied to me but his letter revealed that there are no plans to provide a second-level school. Land can be zoned but that does not mean it is available. As far as I am aware, land is not zoned. What kind of action has the Department taken with the schools locally to project into the future and make provision for second-level places? As far as I am aware, very little has been done.

Midleton CBS has been looking for an extension for quite some time but has not received it. St. Mary's High School needs extra science laboratories but has not received them. St. Aloysius College in Carrigtohill needs extra work which has not been carried out. Perhaps there is an opportunity for the boys' second-level school and the girls' second-level school in Midleton to co-operate. Such a solution could be a shared campus on a greenfield site. All these things take time, as the Minister is aware. This can take years when the crisis is approaching very quickly.

East Cork has been designated as a special growth area because of the railway coming into the area and building has been phenomenal. It would be very useful if the Minister organised a briefing involving officials from her Department with possibly myself and other Deputies from the area. I want to be proactive on this issue and draw attention to the fact that a situation is rapidly developing and I would like to see some action and plans before it becomes a crisis. I look forward to hearing the Minister of State's reply.

Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)
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I apologise on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, who was not in a position to be here to take this matter.

I thank the Deputy for raising it as it affords the opportunity to outline to the House the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and to outline the position regarding second level places in Midleton.

Modernising 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 needs in areas of rapid population growth. Nonetheless, since taking office, the Government has shown a focused determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure that the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum.

As evidence of this commitment, more than €540 million will be spent on school building and modernisation projects in the coming year on primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. Since 1997, a total of €3 billion has been invested in school buildings and this has delivered more than 7,800 school building projects. This further investment of more than €540 million will build on these achievements and will focus in particular on the provision of school accommodation in areas where the population is growing at a rapid rate. As further evidence of our commitment, the national development plan funding of €4.5 billion will be invested in schools over the coming years. I am sure the Deputy will agree that this record level of investment is a positive testament to the high priority the Government attaches to ensuring that school accommodation is of the highest standard possible.

Turning to the specific issue of the second level school places for Midleton, the Department of Education and Science has a number of proactive strategies to ensure that the accommodation requirements for schools in developing areas such as east Cork are addressed in a manner that will meet the long-term education needs of the population. The process of assessing the need for new or additional accommodation facilities at second level in any given area entails consideration of all relevant factors, including enrolment and demographic trends, housing developments and existing school capacity to meet current or future demand. As part of the process, the Department of Education and Science is included among the prescribed authorities to whom local authorities are statutorily obliged to send draft development plans or variations to development plans. As a matter of course meetings are arranged with local authorities to establish the location, scale and pace of housing developments and their implication for both current and future school provision. In this regard, officials in the school planning section of the Department plan to meet senior officials from Cork County Council and Cork County VEC to discuss potential and anticipated developments in the general area with a view to making informed decisions in regard to the long-term accommodation needs of the second level schools in the area and in particular to those schools that have made application for major capital investment in their buildings.

I thank the Deputy once again for raising the matter and allowing me to outline the position regarding the provision of second level places in Midleton.