John Curran (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 135: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps her Department is taking to progress the school building projects in the Lucan area. [40125/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently 5 post-primary and 11 primary schools in the general Lucan area. The position regarding major school building projects in the area is as follows:

St Marys Primary School, Woodview — The proposed extension project for this school is to provide additional accommodation to cater for 24 classrooms plus ancillary accommodation. The project is at an early stage of architectural planning. The schools Design Team has been instructed to prepare a stage 1, 2 submission (site suitability/sketch scheme).

Adamstown Community College — This is a Design and Build new school project to cater for 1,000 pupils. A stage 3 report has been reviewed by my Department's technical team and their comments sent to the developer. When these comments are addressed and a response received, my officials will evaluate the documentation.

St Josephs College, Lucan — The proposed refurbishment project for this school is at an early stage of architectural planning. The project was approved to proceed to stage 3 (Dev sketch scheme) in October 2006. When the complete stage 3 submission is received in my Department, my Officials will arrange a meeting with the School's Design Team in order to evaluate the documentation.

Adamstown Primary School — Construction has recently commenced on 2 sixteen classroom schools one is scheduled to be ready for September 2007 and the other for late 2007.

Gaelscoil Naomh Pádraig — Construction was recently completed on 8 classrooms plus ancillary accommodation to bring this school up to a sixteen classroom school

Scoil Mhuire — A revised stage 3 for the construction of 3 classrooms plus some ancillary accommodation plus upgrading of the M & E is awaited. When this extension is completed the school will have 24 classrooms.

Building projects for Coláiste Cois Life and Balgaddy Senior Primary school were recently completed.

I recently gave the ahead to start architectural planning for building and modernisation works at Lucan Community School, Balgaddy Junior School, St. Thomas N.S. and Scoil Áine N.S.

My Department monitors the school needs of the Lucan area on a regular basis and will continue to do so in order that any newly emerging needs can be addressed as expeditiously as possible.

It is evident from the above that my Department has and is continuing to make a major investment in school infrastructure in the Lucan area. This has been facilitated by a record investment by the Government of over €2 billion in school infrastructure in the period from 2000 to 2005, which enabled my Department to deliver over 6500 projects nationally in that period. An additional 1,300 building projects will be carried out under my Department's Capital Programme this year alone.

The infrastructural investment needs in schools will continue into the future. However, 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 pro-active approach in modernising existing schools and providing additional accommodation where required throughout the country.