Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Mary Coughlan, who is unfortunately unable to come to the House.

In April 2008, Baylin national school applied to the Department for an extension and refurbishment project. The school has a staffing level of a principal and four mainstream teachers. It also has the services of a resource teacher. Its accommodation consists of four mainstream permanent classrooms, one prefabricated mainstream classroom and some ancillary accommodation. The school's enrolment at 30 September 2009 was 127 pupils. While enrolments at the school have increased modestly over the past four years, the school has not experienced the rapid increase in enrolments that have occurred in other schools.

The assessment process for capital funding determines the extent and type of accommodation needed based on population growth, demographic trends, current and projected enrolments, recent and planned housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet demand for pupil places. As part of this process, a project is assigned a band rating under the prioritisation criteria to which I referred. 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 them, in other words, a building project moves through the system commensurate with the band rating assigned to it and as it is ready to proceed.

The application from Baylin national school has been assigned a band rating of 2.1, reflecting the fact that the standard of its existing accommodation is such that it needs to be extended and refurbished. The progression of all large-scale building projects, including the project in question, from initial design stage through to construction will be considered in the context of the Department's multi-annual school building and modernisation programme for 2011 and subsequent years. However, in light of competing demands on the capital budget, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project for the school at this time.

Senator McFadden will appreciate that it is not possible to advance all the projects required at the same time. I assure her, however, that all school building projects, including that for Baylin national school, will be advanced incrementally through the system over time and as the necessary resources become available. I thank the Senator for allowing me the opportunity to outline the position regarding the school.