Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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I raise this matter in the context of the fact that €300 million is spent annually in Cork on prefabricated buildings in the primary school sector. Today, we learned through RTE that €330 million of the budget of the Department of Education and Skills has not yet been spent. I use the particular example of Midleton because three primary schools are housed in inadequate conditions. I put the question to the Minister about the educational needs of Midleton in the future and the answer stated: "School accommodation requirements in the Midleton/Carrigtwohill area have been considered as part of this detailed study of the identified areas, which indicates that up 38 additional primary classrooms may be required across that area to cater for increased enrolments up to the school year 2014/15." There are three schools in the area - St. John the Baptist national school, an Educate Together school and a gaelscoil. I am sure the Minister's response will point out the Department has applied for planning permission at Ballinacurra, a site that would be woefully inadequate for meeting the longer-term needs of primary schools in Midleton. The Educate Together school is housed in the local rugby club at a cost of €45,000 per year. The gaelscoil is spending approximately €81,000 on rental costs and is being housed in the local community centre. I do not have the figures for the third school. If we take a lateral approach about how to provide this, we can make savings in the long run. We want the Department to come down and make a proper study and assessment of the educational requirements in the Midleton area so that it can adhere to the aim to meet the need for 38 additional primary school classrooms and adhere to the various ethos that exist.

St. John the Baptist national school is largely a Church of Ireland denomination school. Along with the Educate Together school and the gaelscoil, it could be housed on one campus but the Ballinacurra site is woefully inadequate. Something must be done. In the case of St. John the Baptist national school, the school authorities have an imaginative plan and have sought a loan from the Department in order to carry out the work. It has proven it can do this work in the past. If the Department got out of its centralised, structuralised tendency to think along the same lines, these people could achieve their aims. They seek a little help from the Government in order to do so. Similarly, the Educate Together school is housed in the local rugby club and was offered a site at the local co-op, which it could rent at a significantly lower price than the Department is paying at present. Why do we not think laterally about how we can help them?

Midleton is a barometer for many towns beyond the Pale. I asked the Department and the Minister to take on board the submissions made by the schools and to recognise the deficiencies at the Ballinacurra site. I call on someone to please meet with these people and think a little more laterally about how they are going to deliver for educational needs in the primary sector in the future.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I am pleased to be able to take this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills. I thank the Deputy for raising it as it provides me with an opportunity to outline to the Dáil the Government's strategy for capital investment in education projects and also to outline the current position on Midleton in particular.

Modernising facilities in our existing building stock as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth present a significant challenge. The Government has shown a consistent determination to improve the condition of school buildings and ensure that the appropriate facilities are in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum.

All applications for capital funding are assessed in the planning and building unit of the Department. The assessment process determines the extent and type of need based on the demographics of an area, proposed housing developments, condition of buildings and site capacity, and leads to an appropriate accommodation solution.

As part of this process, a project is assigned a band rating under published prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects. These criteria were devised following consultation with the education partners. Projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need. That is reflected in the band rating assigned to a project. In other words, a proposed building project moves through the system commensurate with the band rating assigned to it. There are four band ratings overall, of which band 1 is the highest and band 4 the lowest. Band 1 projects, for example, include the provision of buildings where none currently exists but there is a high demand for pupil places, while a band 4 project makes provision for desirable but not necessarily urgent or essential facilities, such as a library or new sports hall.

Furthermore, the forward planning section of the Department is in the process of carrying out detailed analysis and reports in order to identify the school accommodation requirements for each area, up to and including the school year 2014-15. The progression of all large-scale building projects arising from the forward planning section's analysis of accommodation needs will be considered in the context of the Department's multi-annual school building and modernisation programme.

However, as the Deputy will be aware, as part of this process Midleton has been identified as one of the areas projected to undergo increases in educational demand in the coming years. In that context, the Department is currently in the process of acquiring a suitable site which is zoned by the local authority for education use in the Midleton area. To this end the Department has applied for planning permission as part of the exchange of contracts. Cork County Council has sought further information on this planning application and I am advised that a response will be provided to the planning authority in the coming weeks. When the acquisition of a suitable site is concluded, the Department will consider the optimal use of the site to meet the primary school needs of Midleton in conjunction with applications from existing schools in the town. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter.