Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 399: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the extent to which she expects to address the full requirements of the school building programme at primary and second level in 2007-08; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28744/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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During the period of the last National Development Plan 2000-2006, record levels of investment and the streamlining of delivery systems allowed a major acceleration of the school building programme. Over €2.6 billion was invested in upgrading existing school infrastructure and providing new school accommodation at both first and second-level. This was the largest investment programme in the history of the State and delivered over 7,800 building projects involving tens of thousands of extra permanent school places. This investment has helped to increase capacity and transform the standard of accommodation in many schools throughout the country.

Innovations in the delivery of school buildings such as Generic Repeat Designs and the use of the Design and Build model have been introduced to ensure that new school buildings are delivered in the fastest time-frame possible. Much greater authority has also been devolved to local school management boards to manage and deliver smaller building projects, thereby freeing my Department to concentrate on the larger scale projects. We have also improved forward planning through greater cooperation with Local Authorities and the publication of 10-year Area Development Plans.

The budget for 2007 is the first year of the roll out of the National Development Plan 2007-2013 which will involve an investment of over €4.5 billion in school buildings. This funding will enable my Department to continue to take a proactive approach to the provision of modern school accommodation with a particular focus on the needs of developing areas. We are planning for an expected 100,000 additional school places over the lifetime of the Plan. This year alone over €540 million will be spent on school building infrastructure with over 1,500 projects on my Department's school building programme. Construction in 2007 alone will deliver over 700 classrooms to provide permanent accommodation for over 17,500 pupils, mainly in developing areas.

As part of our strategy for the provision of school places for 2008 and onwards my Department has also initiated a tender process for a drawdown contract facility that will be used to provide additional school places in the rapidly developing areas. This drawdown contract facility is aimed at providing school accommodation in very short timescales using modern methodologies such as off-site construction. My Department is also working closely with the relevant local authorities in relation to the acquisition of suitable sites for new schools and, where possible, pre-empting any planning issues that may arise.

The Deputy can be assured that my Department will target funding, as appropriate, in order to ensure that additional school accommodation is provided in developing areas within the earliest possible timeframes.