Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 537: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her plans to address the issue of overcrowding in all schools here; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40665/06]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 543: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when she expects the school accommodation requirements to date identified to her Department by the various school authorities to be completed with particular reference to the need to achieve an acceptable pupil-teacher ratio and class size at primary and second level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40671/06]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 545: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps she will take to speed up the process of the provision of new schools or school extensions here with a view to meeting accommodation problems within a reasonable time having regard to demographic pressures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40673/06]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 546: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her plans to provide extra classroom space with a view to achieving a desirable pupil-teacher ratio in each class; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40674/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 537, 543, 545 and 546 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, major improvements have been made in staffing at both primary and post-primary level in recent years. At the beginning of the current school year there are no less than 4000 extra teachers in our primary schools, compared with 2002. The average class size in our primary schools is 24 and there is now one teacher for 17 pupils at primary level, including resource teachers etc.

Children with special needs and those from disadvantaged areas are getting more support than ever before to help them to make the most of their time at school.

Indeed, with the thousands of extra primary teachers hired by this Government, recent years have seen the largest expansion in teacher numbers since the expansion of free education. Over the next two school years even more teachers will be put in place both for the above priority areas of disadvantage and special education and also under a reduction in the mainstream staffing schedule.

As you know all primary schools are staffed on a general rule of at least one classroom teacher for every 28 children. Of course, schools with only one or two teachers have much lower staffing ratios than that — with two teachers for just 12 pupils in some cases and so on — but the general rule is that there is at least one classroom teacher for every 28 children in the school. Next year (2007/2008 school year) this is being reduced to 27 children per classroom teacher.

A further initiative that has been of direct benefit to primary schools has been the change in the criteria for developing schools. For the current school year the threshold for getting a developing school post was reduced specifically to help schools that are seeing large increases in enrolments each year, as is the case in many schools. 170 such posts were sanctioned in the 2005/06 school year, compared to 105 in 2004/05.

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 it is one 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 which I believe can be used to advantage across the country in future.

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.