Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 316: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the criteria which her Department uses to establish that a new multi-denominational school deserves permanent recognition. [24183/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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New schools commence operation with provisional recognition and are generally required to complete a period of three years in this mode. Accommodation remains the Patron's responsibility until the Department is in a position to provide permanent accommodation, assuming the school achieves permanent recognition.

The following four main areas are examined in determining permanent recognition: the school must be operating in accordance with the Rules for National Schools; the school has determined its viability in terms of enrolment; the school's accommodation is deemed suitable to meet its needs for the short/medium term or until the Department is in a position to provide permanent accommodation; the school is meeting a need which is not already being met by existing schools. A new school, when it secures permanent recognition, becomes eligible for capital funding and is considered within the context of the Department's School Building and Modernisation Programme.