Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Government has invested in the largest schools building and modernisation programme in the history of the State. The almost €500 million that it will spend on school buildings this year compares favourably to the €70 million spent on school buildings in the year when Senator McHugh's party left office. More than 1,200 schools will benefit as a result of the announcements by the Minister for Education and Science this year under the school buildings and modernisation programme. The works in question range from rewiring and new windows to entire new schools. Not only is the Government investing unprecedented amounts of money in school building and modernisation projects, but it is also accelerating the pace with which projects are delivered. The Government, by devolving more responsibility to schools under the small and rural schools initiative and the summer works scheme, is allowing schools to progress projects at a much faster pace than would be achieved if every small project were micro-managed at a central level. This system ensures that the staff of the Department of Education and Science are free to concentrate on moving large projects through the main building programme as quickly as possible.

Generic designs are being used to speed up the design process. Standard designs are used for certain types of school, such as four-teacher schools on greenfield sites, for example. The Minister recently announced a major programme of public private partnerships for schools. This is a further public procurement innovation being used by the Government to deliver top class new school buildings quickly. The modernisation of the facilities in all 3,200 primary and 750 post-primary schools is not an easy task, especially in light of the legacy of decades of under-investment in this area and the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of increasing population. The Government is determined to ensure that every child is educated in a suitable and comfortable environment. The substantial increase in funding for school building projects in recent years is a clear demonstration of its commitment to achieving this goal.

I wish to outline the current position in respect of St. Eunan's college in Letterkenny, County Donegal. A full design team has been appointed and the process of architectural design of the school's extension project is progressing. The planned extension, which consists of a total area of 1,450 sq. m., was initially designed to cater for a long-term projected enrolment of 750 pupils. The level of enrolment at the school has increased significantly in recent years, however, from 760 pupils in September 2000 to 810 pupils in 2004. In that light, and to ensure that the proposed capital investment will deliver accommodation appropriate to the school's future needs, the school planning section of the Department of Education and Science is reassessing the school's long-term projected enrolment. That process involves an examination of demographic and enrolment trends and the local authority's plans for residential development that could impact on enrolments at St. Eunan's college. The school authority will be consulted as part of this process, which will be completed as quickly as possible to allow the project to progress as planned. The current extension project is at an early stage of architectural planning and a stage one submission — site suitability and site survey with various design solutions — has been received by the Department of Education and Science. When a review of the submission has been completed and a final determination of the school's long-term enrolment status made, officials from the Department will make contact with the school authorities about progressing the project.