Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Tuffy for raising on the Adjournment of the Seanad this evening the question of the provision of additional permanent accommodation at St. Andrew's national school in Lucan. I propose to give the House details of the Department of Education and Science's strategy for capital investment in education projects and to outline the position in respect of the proposed building project at the national school in question. The modernisation of the 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 and the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth. Since it took office, the Government has shown a determination to improve the condition of our school buildings and to ensure that the appropriate facilities are put in place to enable the implementation of a broad and balanced curriculum. As evidence of this commitment, some 1,300 building and modernisation projects are active in our primary and post-primary schools this year. Over €490 million is being spent on primary and post-primary projects throughout the country.

The Department of Education and Science has acknowledged the need for a replacement building to meet the future needs of St. Andrew's national school in Lucan. I am familiar with the conditions at the school. It has been established that the present site is unsuitable for further development because it is too small for the type of development envisaged by the school authorities. A suitable site in the Lucan area needs to be identified before progress can be made on the building project in question. The school's current location in a mature part of Lucan complicates the identification of a suitable site for the school, which is under the patronage of the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin, particularly given the wish of the school authorities that the school should remain in close proximity to St. Andrew's Church of Ireland in Lucan. The school authorities previously undertook to carry out negotiations on the acquisition of a site to meet their needs and to submit their proposals in that regard to the Department.

Previously, the school authorities undertook to carry out their own negotiations to acquire a site to meet their needs in this regard and submit their proposals to the Department. However, these proposals did not subsequently materialise when the Department pursued the matter with the school authorities.

The property management section of the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of the Department of Education and Science as regards site acquisitions generally, is being asked to explore the possibility of acquiring an alternative site for the school in the context of the band rating applicable to the proposed new building project under the prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects. In the meantime approval has been given to the school for the rental of temporary accommodation to meet its immediate needs. This is a short-term rental agreement which will only remain in place until such time as the permanent accommodation needs of the school are met. In addition, the Department of Education and Science has approved funding in the amount of €39,725 under the summer work scheme 2006 for works to upgrade the toilets at the school.

I thank the Senator for allowing me the opportunity to outline the position of the Department of Education and Science on the accommodation needs of St. Andrew's national school in Lucan. I agree with the Senator that we must make progress on this issue, but councillors as well as Deputies must work on these problems for the communities they represent.