Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 500: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the progress which has been made on the building application of a school (details supplied) in County Cork; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that this school has had an accommodation crisis for four years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16308/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The school referred to by the Deputy is one of three post primary schools serving the needs of the area, two of which are voluntary secondary schools and a vocational school under the aegis of County Cork Vocational Education Committee.

On foot of an application for capital investment in this school, officials in the School Planning Section of my Department carried out an examination of all the relevant factors such as current and projected enrolment, demographic trends and the likely impact of ongoing and proposed housing development in the area. This examination indicated a downward trend in pupil enrolments in the longer term. The possibility of a single school to cater for the long term needs of the pupils of the area was raised with the trustees of the three post primary school for their consideration. While no final decision was taken at the time, the matter has been raised again recently with the trustees in order to inform a decision on how best to provide for the postprimary educational needs of the area into the future. The accommodation needs of the school referred to are being considered in this regard.