Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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Question 135: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her Department has sought to purchase land for the expansion of a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; if so, the details of same; if she communicates with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government on proposals that link housing developments with school extensions and provision as part of the community gain as is the case with a proposal for this school; if in such cases a view is sought regarding the compatibility of the regional planning guidelines; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4961/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding from the school to which the Deputy refers. The application is currently being assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and progress on the projects is being considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme from 2007 onwards. In common with all such applications, the Department carries out a detailed examination of the demographics of an area together with planned housing developments etc. to ensure that any planned capital investment will meet the needs of an area as a whole for the foreseeable future.

With regard to the need for additional land to cater for the extension to the school I must point out that the purchase of same is a matter for the Board of Management. The Department is engaged in ongoing discussions with local authorities and the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government in relation to issues concerning the provision of school sites and indeed community and school gain as mentioned by the Deputy.