Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

On the question of grants and running costs in schools, in 2001 a 300 pupil school got £52,000 towards its running costs. In 2008, a school with 300 pupils gets €100,000. I have indicated clearly in the Dáil that I would like to see the capitation fee for schools increased. It is my intention, as Minister for Education and Science, to try to bring that about as best I can in a period when resources are not as freely available. I will be very sympathetic in any consideration of the budget I have in place.

This Government is committed to ensuring that education remains at the forefront. In terms of the capital programme, the Government has indicated that it is committed to the building of new schools and extensions and the refurbishment of schools to meet the requirements of the developing areas.

When I hear people bitterly criticise the building unit I ask them to note that last September, 7,000 new places were provided for primary school children in the greater Dublin area. Not one child was left without a school place. Members should compare that to the previous September when there was major difficulty. The reason for that success is that we put together a developing areas team within the Department of Education and Science. When I was Minister of State with responsibility for housing we interacted with each city and county manager and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. We set up a database into which we put all of the demographic growths within the various areas and this year we ensured that no child was without a school place in September. That was a remarkable achievement. A total of 7,000 children went into those schools without a hitch or a complaint. Everybody was happy and I congratulate my building unit.