Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)
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Question 138: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of schools at primary level and secondary level inspected by the Health and Safety Authority in each of the past five years; the number of cases in which adverse findings were made by the inspectors; the steps she is taking to ensure that all schools are brought up to an acceptable level and that such inspections should no longer be required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13003/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, it is the responsibility of school management authorities to have a safety statement in place in their schools. Schools are obliged to identify possible hazards, assess the risks to health and safety and to put appropriate safeguards in place.

It is open to school management authorities or individuals to make direct contact with the Health and Safety Authority on matters of concern to them and the Department would not necessarily be aware of such communications. Where they are issued, notifications from the Health and Safety Authority are sent to the management authorities of schools in the first instance. In practical terms, individual school authorities are best placed to assess the detail of their own health and safety requirements.

Provision is built into the school building programme to enable schools address urgent health and safety problems. Primary schools are given an annual allocation, currently amounting to €3,809 plus €12.70 per pupil, under the grant scheme for minor works which can be used entirely at the discretion of school management to address basic health and safety issues relating to school infrastructure. In addition, the summer works scheme was introduced during 2004 which provided capital grants for improvement works at primary and post-primary schools. A total of 457 schools were approved for funding under this scheme in 2004. More than 580 schools have been approved for funding under the 2005 summer works scheme.

My Department also sets aside a contingency sum each year to deal with emergency works in primary and post-primary schools, including health and safety works. Urgently required health and safety works relating to asbestos removal, radon mitigation or dust extraction may be grant aided under the remediation programmes operated by the school building section of my Department.