Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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Question 265: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the stage the proposed new school (details supplied) in County Galway is at; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18615/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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An application for capital funding towards the provision of additional accommodation has been received from the school referred to by the Deputy. The project has been assessed in accordance with the prioritisation criteria for large-scale building projects. The long term projected staffing figure, on which future accommodation needs will be based, has been agreed with the school authority and a detailed accommodation brief is being drawn up.

In order to facilitate the delivery of appropriate school accommodation, it was considered that a site extension was required. The Property Management Section of the OPW, which acts on behalf of my Department in relation to site acquisitions generally, was requested to pursue site acquisition in this case.

A site was identified and an agreement on price subject to contract was reached. The Vendor has now withdrawn the offer on that site. The OPW will need to re-advertise for an alternative site in the area. Once site acquisition is finalised, the project will be considered for the appointment of a design team to carry out the architectural planning.