Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 400: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of children accommodated in prefabricated classrooms or other temporary accommodation at present; when she expects to address this issue in full; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28745/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The information sought by the Deputy is not readily available in my Department. However, if the Deputy wishes to request details on a specific school, my officials will provide the required information. The demand for additional accommodation in schools has risen significantly over the last number of years mainly due to the rapid expansion in teacher numbers particularly in the area of special needs, the growth in the school-going population in rapidly developing areas and the demands to cater for diversity through the recognition of new Gaelscoileanna and Educate Together schools.

The focus within my Department is to empower schools to resolve their accommodation needs, wherever possible, by way of permanent accommodation. In order to reduce the amount of temporary/prefabricated accommodation at primary level and to upgrade existing facilities, two new initiatives, the Permanent Accommodation Initiative and the Small School Initiative were launched in 2003 on a pilot basis. The purpose of these initiatives was to allow primary schools to undertake a permanent solution to their classroom accommodation needs and to achieve the best value for money as opposed to the provision of temporary accommodation.

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. In order to maintain this momentum I approved over 250 additional schools to participate in these schemes in 2007. As a result of these schemes the amount spent on the purchase of prefabricated buildings in has been significantly reduced.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 401: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the way it is intended that primary or second level schools which cannot comply with health or safety standards due to overcrowding, cramped conditions or otherwise unsuitable accommodation are expected to be in a position to meet such standards in early date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28746/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Individual school authorities are responsible in the first instance for health and safety issues at schools and 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 to put appropriate safeguards in place to mitigate the potential risk to the school community.

It is open to any school to apply to my Department for additional accommodation to meet its needs. All applications for capital funding are assessed in accordance with the Department's published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects which were drawn up following consultation with the education partners. Following this assessment, each application is assigned a band rating. Progress on individual projects is consistent with that band rating. It is also open to school managements, where an immediate need for additional accommodation exists, to apply for the provision of temporary rented accommodation while awaiting the provision of permanent accommodation.

Provision is built into the School Building and modernisation 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. My Department has invested in a record school building programme which between 2000 and 2007 involved the delivery of over 9,000 projects with an investment of over €3 billion. The budget for 2007, at over €540m, is the first year of the roll out of the new NDP which will involve an investment of over €4.5 billion in school buildings in the coming years.

This multi-annual funding will enable my Department to continue to take a proactive approach to the provision of modern school accommodation having particular regard to the needs of developing areas.