Written answers

Thursday, 28 September 2006

Department of Education and Science

School Accommodation

5:00 pm

Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 299: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the fact that there are no community facilities available and insufficient school places for the children of the areas where there is high density of housing; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30303/06]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The demand for additional accommodation in schools has risen significantly over the last number of years mainly due to the rapid expansion in teacher numbers particularly in the area of special needs, the growth in the school-going population in rapidly developing areas including the impact of inward migration

and the demands to cater for diversity through the recognition of new Gaelscoileanna and Educate Together schools.

In planning for school provision to meet these demands, the Department has adopted an area based approach which involves a public consultation process involving all interested parties. This leads to the production of a blueprint for schools' development in an area for a timeframe of approximately ten years. The exercise recently completed on the N4-M4 corridor is an example of this and the rapidly developing areas of north Dublin, south Louth and east Meath are being examined this year. This structured process will ensure a more proactive approach to school planning than had been the case in the past.

Apart from the area development planning process the Department is also proactively engaged with local authorities on a continual basis in relation to specific areas. This is being done through improved contacts and communication protocols to ensure that the Department is better alerted about new and expanding residential areas and afforded an opportunity to ensure appropriate zoning provision for educational purposes.

For example in the case of the Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) at Adamstown the Department is working closely with South Dublin County Council and the developers to produce an integrated solution to education and community facilities that matches the delivery of new housing. Under the SDZ arrangements there is a requirement that schools are in position ahead of or in line with demand, and I think that this is an approach that should be adopted by other planning authorities in relation to major new housing schemes.

The Department is working particularly closely with Fingal County Council to develop a joint approach to the timely provision of schools in an area of the country subject to extremely rapid development. This work is providing innovative approaches to partnership in terms of providing educational infrastructure and shared community facilities in tandem. While the overall model is at the early stages of implementation, already, at Diswellstown, there is a very fine example of what an integrated approach to the delivery of education and community facilities can achieve. The Department looks forward to a broader range of enhanced facilities for school and community use as the model develops at various locations in the Fingal area where it is estimated up to 20 schools will be required in the coming years. I believe this model can be used to advantage across the country in future particularly in the area of shared community facilities.

Apart from the planning process, the Department prioritises school buildings for rapidly developing areas. This is achieved by assigning them a band one priority rating under the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects. Whenever possible, the Department implements a standardised design model or a design and build process to fast track delivery of the buildings themselves. Not alone does this result in speedier delivery of projects but it also achieves savings in design fees and land use arising from the use of the two storey design. Among schools completed using one of these processes is Griffeen Valley in Lucan which was completed in a 13 month timeframe.

The level of work being done under the schools building programme is at an all-time high. While increased investment is a central reason for this — €500m this year alone — radical changes in how projects are planned and managed have also made a major difference in ensuring that provision is delivered in line with or ahead of demand.

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