Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 182: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps that are being taken to address the severe overcrowding in schools in Mullingar due to the population growth in the town. [29863/05]

Aengus Ó Snodaigh (Dublin South Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 183: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her Department is monitoring the census figures relating to Mullingar to plan the future provision of primary and secondary school education for children from Mullingar and the surrounding towns. [29864/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 182 and 183 together.

My Department accepts that Mullingar is a developing town and is taking a number of steps to ensure that its future needs are met in a timely fashion. In this regard, progress on a number of large scale building projects is being considered for progression under the school building and modernisation programme. This involves a combination of extensions, refurbishments and the provision of new school buildings.

In addition, an in-depth examination of both primary and post-primary infrastructural provision in Mullingar is currently being carried out in the school planning section. The census figures for Mullingar are being taken into account in this examination, the findings of which will inform the extent and nature of any future provision to be made.