Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 141: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will outline the present system of liaison between the planning authorities at local authority level and her Department's planning unit of the primary education section regarding matching the supply of additional classroom spaces with the grant of planning permission for new housing units across the country; if she has satisfied herself with the present co-ordination between local authorities and the local family education service providers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26077/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The process of assessing the need for new or additional educational facilities at primary or post-primary level in a given area entails consideration of all relevant factors, including enrolment and demographic trends, housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places. Liaison with existing schools is an important part of the process also, as the school authorities would usually alert my Department where, in their view, the need for additional accommodation is anticipated. In that way, every effort is made to ensure that there is adequate existing provision, or that timely arrangements are made to extend capacity or provide new infrastructure where necessary.

Over and above the statutory consultation provisions regarding local authority area development plans, my Department has in recent years worked to strengthen contacts with local authorities to enable informed decisions to be made in planning future educational provision. For example, a specific forum, the Dublin school planning committee, chaired by officials of my Department, interacts with the Dublin local authorities. That forum comprises representatives of the local authorities in Dublin together with representatives of the patron bodies of primary schools, and it works proactively in monitoring demographic changes and their likely impact. Outside that process, meetings with local authority planners are a regular feature of the school planning process.

The criteria for prioritising large-scale building projects were revised last year following consultation with the education partners. Under the revised criteria, school projects in rapidly developing areas are assigned a band 1 rating, which is the highest priority possible. That is clear evidence of my Department's commitment to ensuring that the needs of rapidly developing areas are met as quickly as possible.

The school planning section of my Department is also working proactively with some local authorities to explore the possibility of the development of school provision in tandem with the development of community facilities. That enhanced co-operation has the effect of minimising my Department's land requirements and thus reducing site costs, while at the same time providing local communities with new schools with enhanced facilities.

In addition, under the provisions of the strategic development zones, or SDZs, it is generally the position that sites must be reserved for schools and that the schools must be developed commensurate with housing and other developments such as community facilities.

My Department has recently adopted an area-based approach to school planning where, through a public consultation process involving all interested parties, a blueprint for schools' development in an area for a ten-year timeframe is set out. The areas covered in the pilot phase of that new approach to school planning include the rapidly developing areas of north Dublin, south Louth and east Meath and the N4-M4 route running from Leixlip to Kilbeggan and including all rapidly developing towns and villages on that route. Taken in combination, I believe that the measures outlined will improve the speed and effectiveness of the response to emerging needs in areas where they are developing significantly.

With regard to the co-ordination referred to in the question, local authorities have no direct role to play in school provision, which is a matter for my Department. However education providers can use the statutory processes open to the public at large to make their views known regarding any specific planning issues.