John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 1278: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the status of the construction of a new school for a school (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; if contracts have been accepted; when construction will commence; the timeframe for completion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1435/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The school referred to by the Deputy was listed among the 43 schools that I announced in March of 2005 to start architectural planning. The brief is for a new 16-classroom school.

Apart from the civil and structural engineer, which my Department hopes to have appointed in the near future, all other design team members have been appointed. The architectural service for this project is being dealt with in-house by the school building section, and substantial works on the early stages of the design process have already been completed.

The school authorities wrote to my Department in December 2005 requesting amendments to the brief, and that is currently being examined by my officials. When that has been completed, my Department will be in further contact with the school authorities as to the next step required to advance the project.

It is not possible at this point to indicate when the architectural planning process will be completed. There are five stages in the process and the timeframe for completing those stages is contingent on various factors, including any unexpected issues that may arise, the period of time for the granting of planning permission and obtaining a fire certificate.

Progression of projects to construction will be considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme 2005-2009.