Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 147: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason progress on providing a permanent building for a school (details provided) in County Louth has been stalled and the responsibility for the project has not been transferred from the school planning section of her Department to the school building section; when such a transfer will take place; when construction of the school is scheduled to commence; when it is due to be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29131/07]

Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 148: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a school (details supplied) in County Louth will be included in the scheme to fast track the construction of schools; if not, the reason for same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29132/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 147 and 148 together.

As the Deputy will be aware, all applications for large scale capital funding are assessed against published prioritisation criteria and assigned a Band rating. Progress on individual projects is then considered in the context of the multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme consistent with the assigned Band rating. This is the case for the project in question.

The funding of €4.5 billion to be provided under the new National Development Plan (NDP) for investment in school building infrastructure will be adequate to meet the Department's needs over the lifetime of the plan. This will be the largest investment programme in schools in the history of the State and it will enable the Department to ensure that school places are available where needed as well as continuing to upgrade existing school facilities. This investment will allow the Department to continue the acceleration of the school building programme which commenced during the lifetime of the last NDP when well over €2.6 billion was invested on school development, delivering over 7,800 projects.