Olivia Mitchell (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 284: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if, in view of the serious degrading and dangerous condition of the playground at a school (details supplied) in Dublin 16, access will be given immediately to summer works funding for the school to get this work carried out as a matter of urgency. [10666/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, it is the responsibility of school management authorities to have a safety statement in place in their schools. Schools are obliged to identify possible hazards, assess the risks to health and safety and put appropriate safeguards in place.

Provision is built into the school building programme to enable schools address urgent health and safety problems. In this regard, primary schools are given an annual allocation under the grant scheme for minor works which can be used entirely at the discretion of school management to address basic health and safety issues relating to school infrastructure.

The scope of the works referred to by the Deputy is also appropriate for consideration under the summer works scheme and, while the schools application was unsuccessful under the 2007 scheme, it is open to it to apply again under the 2008 scheme when it is published later this year.