Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

I thank Senator Alex White for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the House the position on the delivery of a building project to provide two new state-of-the-art buildings to accommodate the schools in Dublin 16.

By way of background, the current enrolment in the junior element of the school is 673 pupils. Its staffing comprises a principal, deputy principal and 26 main classroom teachers. The school also has nine special education teachers and four temporary language support teachers. The senior school has 723 pupils on its rolls and it has a staffing complement of a principal, deputy principal, 27 main classroom teachers and seven special education teachers.

The accommodation at each of the schools consists of 16 permanent classrooms with additional accommodation being met by prefabricated structures. This project has a band 2 rating under the published prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects and is in the early stages of architectural planning. The Department of Education and Science will be providing a 32-classroom, purpose-built facility for each of these schools.

The Senator will appreciate that schools building projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need and this is determined by the band rating assigned to them. The band rating for the project in question is band 2 which reflects the fact that it already has a significant degree of accommodation but still has a shortfall.

The Senator will be aware that a school building programme for any given year is rolled out in tranches. This is to ensure a steady flow of projects to underpin the multi-annual nature of the school building and modernisation programme. The first tranche of the Department's capital programme for 2008 was announced in February. This contained details of projects which will go to tender and construction over the coming months. Further announcements will be made as the budgetary position allows. The project for the schools in question will be considered for progress in this context and consistent with its band rating. Direct contact will be made with the school authority when approval to proceed further can be given.

Over the lifetime of the national development plan, the Government will provide funding of €4.5 billion for school buildings. This will be the largest investment programme in schools in the history of the State and it will enable the Department of Education and Science to ensure school places are available where they are needed and the upgrading and expansion of existing facilities can continue. This level of investment will allow the Department to continue the school building programme which commenced during the lifetime of the last national development plan when considerably more than €2.6 billion was invested in school development, delivering more than 7,800 projects.