Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 723: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the plans for the rebuilding of a secondary school (details supplied) in County Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28092/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Following a fire at the school to which the Deputy refers, the insurance proceeds were used by the management authority for the rental and installation of a significant amount of temporary accommodation, re-instatement works and for the upgrading of external areas. The temporary accommodation in question is of a very high quality and has a long life span. Consequently, the Department purchased it outright. It was made clear to the school's management authority at that time that this accommodation, combined with the re-instatement works, would be expected to meet the schools accommodation needs for the foreseeable future. Since the fire in 2001, my Department has invested almost €1m in the school buildings for roof repairs, an upgrade of its gas system and for certain demolition works for health and safety reasons. Notwithstanding this level of investment, I stated publicly on a number of occasions that the provision of a new building for the school is not off the agenda. This project has been assigned a Band 2 rating under the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. Progress on the project is being considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme from 2006 onwards.