Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to share time with Deputy Rabbitte. I am disappointed that the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, who was in the House earlier, is not present to respond to this important matter. It is clear that the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, has been given the graveyard shift, answering on everyone's behalf. It is a disappointment that this is a serious matter that is not being addressed by his senior colleague.

Holy Rosary National School, Tallaght, was established in 1985. At that stage it was established on a temporary basis and the buildings are still described as semi-permanent. For the past 23 years, it has had a reputation for educational excellence and providing to children of all faiths and none a warm and encouraging education environment.

Given the growth of the Ballycullen and Old Court areas in Dublin 24, the school is bursting at the seams, teachers must work in corridors and the normal facilities one would expect in a school are not provided. The school applied for a new permanent school on its substantial existing site more than eight years ago, but the board of management, parents and teachers are frustrated at the complete failure on the part of the Department to deliver a new school to the community. In that period, more than 3,000 new housing units have been built within less than a half mile radius of the school. Many other schools have seen progress in their applications for total refurbishments or new schools in the past eight years, but this is not the case with Holy Rosary national school. Currently, 480 children attend the school and it has 20 classes, 13 of which are in prefabs. The school has no library facility, physical education hall or medical room. Its staffroom is asked to accommodate 45 professionals in a space where barely 15 could sit. Neither has the school a resource room.

The question is why the Department sat on the application for the past eight years and has shown no intention of moving it to the planning and construction stage. Officials from the Department visited the school four years ago and, with less than 12 hours notice in October of last year, the Department summoned the board of management to meet the former's building unit in Tullamore. The school was led to believe that a decision on the next stage of the building project was imminent. Rightly, the school asked how the project could be regarded as open and transparent on the part of the Department when the application has not been given political priority by the Government. I ask the Minister of State to respond to this urgent matter.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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I thank Deputy Brian Hayes for sharing his time with me and support his case in respect of this particular school. In terms of the required refurbishment and additional facilities, Holy Rosary national school is the forgotten school in so far as the Department of Education and Science is concerned. It is the only school of which I know that has more classes held in prefabricated buildings than in the school building itself. This is a great pity because, as the Deputy mentioned, there has been a housing explosion in the immediate environs. A considerable population of non-national children attends the school and, while it may be the forgotten school, it is also the happiest of which I know. It is brilliantly led by the principal and receives tremendous commitment from the teachers, but it has awaited a decision for more than 20 years.

What is the impediment and why is the school being jumped in the queue by other schools? What does the Minister for Education and Science, who is regrettably not present — I mean the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, no disrespect — have against the Ballycragh national school? This is the question parents are beginning to ask. One cannot continue to have a situation in which more children are taught in prefabricated classrooms than in the school proper.

The project has been outstanding for so long that it is the local expectation that it will be included in the tranche to be announced by the Minister at an early date. I hope the Minister of State will be able to confirm this for Deputy Brian Hayes and myself because all parties are united on the necessity of the refurbishment. For some reason, however, the Government has decided to put the project on the long finger for the past almost dozen years. I plead with the Minister of State to respond to the case set out by Deputy Brian Hayes, who has given the facts in terms of the non-existent facilities, twice as many teachers being squeezed into a staffroom as it was designed to accommodate and the needs of the area's children. As the Deputy stated, the area has more than 3,000 new houses and more are in prospect. I plead with the Minister of State to give the House positive news in the interest of the area's children.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputies for raising this matter, as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the Department of Education and Science's capital programme of works for 2008 and the current position regarding the building project for the Holy Rosary national school, Old Court Avenue, Tallaght, Dublin 24.

School building projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme on the basis of the priority of need presenting. This is reflected in the band rating assigned to individual projects under the published prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects drawn up following consultation with the education partners. A band rating is assigned to a project when it is being assessed by the modernisation and policy unit of the Department. Progress on individual projects is consistent with that band rating. There are four band ratings in all, with band one being the highest and band four the lowest.

As the Deputies will probably be aware, almost €600 million in public funding is being provided for school buildings this year. This will enable the completion of work on 67 large-scale primary schools projects that will deliver 7,000 additional permanent school places in new schools and 2,300 additional permanent school places in existing schools.

Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Will they be fairly selected?

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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All will be revealed throughout the course of the year.

Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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At the teachers' conference.

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Construction work on 150 devolved projects under the permanent accommodation scheme will provide 8,000 additional places in existing primary schools. In the post-primary sector, construction work will be completed on 19 large-scale projects, which will provide 2,400 permanent school places in four new schools, and additional accommodation and refurbishment works in 15 schools that will benefit more than 7,000 pupil attendees. The funding will also enable the purchase of sites to facilitate the smooth delivery of the school building programme, particularly in rapidly developing areas, and the progression of new projects through architectural planning and design stages.

On 1 February, the Minister for Education and Science announced the first tranche of projects that will be proceeding to construction this year. Further announcements will be made during the course of the year. Construction is also due to start in 2008 on the first bundle of public private partnership schools, while further PPPs will be offered to the market next year with a view to building work commencing in later years. This is an enormous programme of work by any standard and, while there will continue to be a focus during the year on providing extra places in developing areas, the Department will also be delivering improvements in the quality of existing primary and post-primary school accommodation throughout the country. The emphasis, however, will be on new schools and extensions to provide additionality in rapidly developing areas.

Turning to the project of particular concern to the Deputies, it will consist of the construction of a new 24-classroom school of approximately 3,562 sq. m. with three new ball courts and two junior play areas. This project is currently at stage three of architectural planning. Following on from a review of a revised stage three submission, additional mechanical and electrical information was requested from the school's design team. When a response to this has been received, officials in the Department will evaluate the documentation.

The project attracts a band two rating and, as with all large-scale building projects, progression through to the construction phase will be considered on an ongoing basis in the context of the band rating assigned to the project and in the context of the Department's multiannual school building and modernisation programme.

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. During the lifetime of the national development plan, the Government is providing funding of €4.5 billion for school buildings. This will be the largest investment programme in schools in the history of the State and will enable the Department to ensure that school places are available where necessary.

This investment will allow the Department to continue the school building programme that commenced during the lifetime of the last national development plan, when considerably more than €2.6 billion was invested in school development, which delivered more than 7,800 projects.