Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 109: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of school building projects currently assessed as being of band four priority awaiting progression by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4993/07]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of school building projects awaiting progression by her Department; the classification of these projects; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4989/07]

Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 125: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of school building projects currently assessed as being of band two priority awaiting progression by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4991/07]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 162: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of school building projects currently assessed as being of band three priority awaiting progression by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4992/07]

Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 203: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of school building projects currently assessed as being of band one priority awaiting progression by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4990/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 109, 112, 125, 162 and 203 together.

Under the NDP 2007 to 2013 funding of €4.5 billion will be invested in first and second level schools modernisation and development programme. This will focus on meeting the demands of a growing school population, with an anticipated 100,000 additional primary places over the next seven years. It will address the need for curriculum reform and innovation, the need to support ongoing teacher professional development and will provide for modernised and enhanced facilities throughout the school system.

A total of 7,800 individual school building projects were delivered for the €2.6 billion investment under the 2000--2006 period of the last NDP. The completion of building projects under the €4.5 billion investment in the new NDP will benefit from recent innovations in delivery mechanisms that have allowed for fast tracking of priority school developments. Schools are seeing that activity under the new Plan is already under way, with 1,500 school building projects due to be delivered in 2007.

The number of building projects under consideration can change on a day to day basis as new applications are received and existing applications are progressed in my Department. These projects are assessed and prioritised in accordance with the prioritisation criteria agreed with the Education Partners. In this regard, it should be noted that a project's banding, or classification, can be subject to reassessment having regard to demographic developments in the area served by the school and also, for example, if on foot of a technical examination of the school it was found that the proposed project put forward by the school was not an appropriate design solution to meet the accommodation requirements.