Written answers

Thursday, 3 February 2005

Department of Education and Science

Schools Building Projects

5:00 pm

Breeda Moynihan-Cronin (Kerry South, Labour)
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Question 36: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason there are one third fewer school projects sanctioned to proceed to tender or construction this year when compared to last year; the timescale for the rollout of the projects sanctioned recently; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3016/05]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that the recently announced 2005 school building programme provides details of 122 major school building projects countrywide which will prepare tenders and move to construction during 2005 is just the first phase of the school building programme.

Last December I outlined a new approach to the rollout of the multi-annual building programme with key changes based on the experience of the previous year, when a number of projects included in the 2004 school building programme encountered difficulties and were delayed in going to construction by some months.

This year the school authorities were immediately contacted by officials from the planning and building unit of my Department and invited to attend briefing sessions, which have already taken place. The purpose of the briefing sessions is to engage with the school authorities and to outline the steps which they must take to ensure that the projects make appropriate progress in the tender process to provide a continuous flow of projects to construction over the coming months.

This announcement is the first in a series of announcements I plan to make in the coming period on the schools building and modernisation programme that will include details of schools identified as suitable for construction under public private partnerships; an expansion of the number of schools that will be invited to deliver their building projects on the basis of devolved funding; details of schools with projects approved under the 2005 summer works scheme; schools whose projects will further progress through the design process; and schools that will be authorised to commence architectural planning.

The allocation of €270 million to primary schools and €223 million to post-primary schools represents an increase of 14% on last year.

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