Gerard Murphy (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Question 88: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of schools listed on her Department's school building programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40236/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In addition to the projects from the 2004 and 2005 School building and Modernisation programmes in the construction stage I announced over 1,200 projects to progress under the 2006 programme. These included projects to progress through various stages of architectural design, tender and construction and projects approved under the devolved schemes. A further 400 projects were approved for funding this year under my Department's emergency works programme.

Over 1,300 building projects will be carried out under my Department's Capital Programme this year alone. This is in addition to over 6,500 projects delivered following on a record investment of over €2 billion in educational infrastructure in the period 2000 to 2005.

I am confident that the allocation from Government of €3.9 billion in capital funding for the education sector over the next 5 years will enable my Department to continue to take a proactive approach in modernising school accommodation throughout the country.

To put it in the context of pupil numbers, if we take new primary schools recently completed, under construction or just now going to construction, we are delivering over 15,000 new pupil places. This figure relates to new schools only and does not include an additional 8,750 school places being delivered under the permanent accommodation scheme. The next tranche of projects currently in the pipeline and due to go to construction during 2007 will deliver a further 9,500 pupil places in new school buildings and a further 5,500 pupil places in existing schools. In addition, the programme of modernisation in existing schools continues apace and will eventually encompass all schools.