Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 97: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if funding will be made available to Educate Together to allow them to continue building a network of multi-denominational schools throughout the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27550/05]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 406: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will allocate core funding to Educate Together to allow it to continue its essential work in developing and managing multi-denominational schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27390/05]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 448: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will increase the core funding for Educate Together to reflect the growth in the work carried out by the organisation in developing and managing multi-denominational schools on behalf of the State; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27815/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 97, 406 and 448 together.

The level of funding that the Department of Education and Science provides to Educate Together as a school management body is on a par with that provided to Foras Patrúnachta na Gaelscoileanna, the Church of Ireland Board of Education, the Islamic Board of Education and the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education. However, following discussions with Educate Together, the Department of Education and Science has provided additional funding to Educate Together in 2005 to meet the immediate issues of concern to that body. The matter of the future funding to be provided to the primary management bodies, including Educate Together, in 2006 will be considered as part of the normal Estimates process.

The Department of Education and Science has supported the establishment of many new Educate Together schools in recent years. Of the 24 new schools granted provisional recognition in the past three years, 12 of them are under Educate Together patronage, 11 of which are open. The Department of Education and Science has made several changes in recent years which have made the provision of accommodation for new schools much easier. One of these changes, strongly welcomed by Educate Together, was the abolition of the local contribution to the building costs for State-owned school buildings, which had cost up to €63,500 per school. Other innovations include the development of the design and build model to provide permanent accommodation much faster, such as in the case of the new Educate Together school in Griffeen Valley, Lucan, which was designed and built in under 13 months.