Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will investigate the possibility of accelerating the schools building programme with particular reference to the needs of developing communities or areas of rapid population expansion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5765/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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This Government has invested in the largest school building programme in the history of the State. Between 1998 and the end of 2004, almost €2 billion was invested in school buildings and in the region of 7,500 large and small projects were completed in schools — including 130 brand new schools and 510 large scale refurbishments/ extensions. Indeed, funding for school building and renovation projects has increased five fold since 1997. In 2006, €491 million will be spent on school building projects, compared to just €92 million in 1997. This, in its own right, is an increase of over 9% in real terms on the 2005 allocation.

At the end of last year I outlined my spending plans for primary and post-primary schools for 2006. With €491 million to be spent on schools buildings, there will be over 1300 projects active in schools all over the country. This significant investment will allow me to continue to progress our major programme of school building and modernisation which includes improving equipment needed for new technologies and ICT.

I have already started to outline individual schools around the country that will benefit under the various parts of the programme throughout the year, with the announcement of 62 schools that have been given the go ahead to start architectural planning and 740 schools that are being given funding under the summer works scheme to carry out essential small scale projects. I will announce details of the other aspects of the programme as we move through the year.

Principal features of the 2006 building and modernisation programme are: €277 million targeted at primary schools and €204 million in the post-primary sector; almost 200 major school building projects at construction during 2006; 105 primary school projects and 62 post-primary projects advancing in architectural design; further use of fast-track design solutions for primary schools. It is expected that up to 12 primary schools will be built using a standardised design model or a design and build process. The first school built under this model opened in Balgaddy, Lucan, in September 2005, having taken just ten months to build.

Up to 200 primary schools will receive approval for devolved funding under the small school and permanent accommodation initiatives during the coming year. This is in addition to the 153 schools that will have projects at construction during 2006 under these initiatives. Small school and permanent accommodation initiatives, which were piloted over the last two years, will become a permanent feature of the building programme. This will enable schools to get works done faster by allowing them to run the projects themselves.

With regard to rapidly developing areas specifically, my Department prioritises the provision of new and enhanced educational facilities in these areas. The prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects which were recently revised in consultation with the education partners allocates a top priority band one rating to school building projects in such areas.

The Government is fully committed to continuing the work that it has started and to consolidating the substantial progress that has already been made to ensure that the needs of schools, regardless of their location, are met as expeditiously as possible.