Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 862: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the position in regard to the provision of classroom facilities and accommodation at a school (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21154/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The school referred to by the Deputy applied and was approved funding for four extra classrooms under the devolved Permanent Accommodation Scheme for 2007. The alternative to a school participating in a devolved scheme is to apply for consideration for inclusion in the mainstream school building programme in line with the project's priority band rating. The Permanent Accommodation Scheme (PAS) was originally introduced in 2003 on a pilot basis and was extended to cover more schools in subsequent years. I increased funding for the PAS in 2006 by an average of 20%. This increase follows an increase of up to 25% in 2005. The feedback has in general been very positive — the number of schools participating has increased year on year and many schools are anxious to be included. To maintain this momentum I approved over 140 additional schools to participate in this scheme in 2007. The present position of the project in question is that the school's management expects to apply for planning permission in the near future.