David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the way her Department anticipates future enrolment for primary schools; the actions her Department is currently taking with regard to same in the east Cork area; if she is confident that these primary schools are currently providing sufficient accommodation for pupils and will be able to cater for future demand; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34236/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to assure the Deputy that my Department has a number of proactive strategies to ensure that the accommodation requirements for schools in developing areas, such as East Cork are addressed in a manner that will meet the long term education needs of the population.

The process of assessing the need for new or additional accommodation facilities at primary or post primary level in any given area entails consideration of all relevant factors, including enrolment and demographic trends, housing developments and existing school capacity to meet current or future demand. As part of the process, my Department is included among the prescribed authorities to whom local authorities are statutorily obliged to send draft development plans or variations to development plans. As a matter of course meetings are arranged with local authorities to establish the location, scale and pace of housing developments and their implication for both current and future school provision.

In this regard, officials in School Planning Section of my Department will be meeting with Cork County Council in the coming weeks to discuss potential and anticipated developments in the general area with a view to making informed decisions in relation to the long term accommodation needs of the schools in the area and in particular for those schools that have made applications for major capital investment in their buildings.