Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I thank Senator McCarthy for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the Seanad the strategy for capital investment in education projects and also to outline the current position on Kinsale community school in particular.

Modernising facilities in the existing building stock, as well as the need to respond to emerging needs in areas of rapid population growth, is a significant challenge and is one of the priorities of the Minister for Education and Science. This Government has dramatically increased investment in the school building programme to €656 million this year. This is an unprecedented level of capital investment which reflects the commitment of the Government to continue its programme of sustained investment in primary and post primary schools. It will underpin a particular emphasis on the delivery of additional school places in rapidly developing areas while continuing to develop on the Government's commitment to delivering improvements in the quality of existing primary and post-primary accommodation throughout the country. It will also enable the purchase of sites to facilitate the smooth delivery of the school building programme, again with the focus being on site requirements in rapidly developing areas.

All applications for capital funding are assessed in the modernisation and policy unit of my Department. The assessment process determines the extent and type of need presenting based on the demographics of an area, proposed housing developments, condition of buildings, site capacity etc., leading ultimately to an appropriate accommodation solution.

As part of this process, a project is assigned a band rating under published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. These criteria were devised following consultation with the education partners.

Projects are selected for inclusion in the school building and modernisation programme on the basis of priority of need. This is reflected in the band rating assigned to a project, in other words, a proposed building project moves through the system commensurate with the band rating assigned to it.

There are four band ratings overall, of which band one is the highest and band four the lowest. Band one projects, for example, include the provision of buildings where none currently exists but there is a high demand for pupil places, while a band four project makes provision of desirable, but not necessarily urgent or essential, facilities such as a library or new sports hall.

On Kinsale community school, the brief for this extension-refurbishment project is to provide accommodation for a long term projected enrolment of 850 pupils. The project, which has been assigned a band rating of 2.1, is currently awaiting the appointment of a design team. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction is dependent on the prioritisation of competing demands on the funding available under the Department's capital budget. However, as the Senator will understand, it is not possible to progress all projects to construction at the same time. This project will continue to be considered in the context of the Department's multi-annual school building and modernisation programme. However, in light of current demands on the capital budget of the Department, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the further progression of the project at this time.

The allocation for school buildings in 2009 of €656 million represents a significant investment in the school building and modernisation programme. This level of funding for the building programme, at a time of great pressure on public finances, is a sign of the real commitment of this Government to investing in school infrastructure and will permit the continuation of progress in the overall improvement of school accommodation.

I thank the Senator for giving me the opportunity to outline to the Seanad the current position regarding the school building project for Kinsale community school.