Michael Brennan (Progressive Democrats)

On behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, I thank the Senator for affording me the opportunity to outline to this House the proposals of his Department regarding the proposed refurbishment and extension project at Scoil Mhuire national school, Dristernan, Gleneely, Inishowen, County Donegal.

The school authorities applied to the Department for the provision of an extension and the refurbishment of the existing building. I am pleased to inform the Senator that a full design team has been appointed and the architectural planning process has commenced. The introduction of a multi-annual funding process for school building projects requires a revised approach to how projects are scheduled through the design process and on to tender and construction. To maintain a smooth flow of projects and ensure that the optimum number of projects is ready to go to tender and construction at any given time, the Department of Education and Science will progress on a priority basis those projects at an early design stage such as Scoil Mhuire. The Department will provide further details of those projects and notify the schools concerned in the new year. In this way, the Department seeks to create sustained momentum in the schools building programme to match the Government's multi-annual funding commitment.

I thank the Senator once again for raising the matter in the House.