Billy Timmins (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 509: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the position in relation to the application for an extension from a school (details supplied) in County Wicklow; if same will be dealt with as a matter of urgency; when this work will be carried out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30810/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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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, however, the school in question requires temporary accommodation in the meantime, it should make an immediate application to the Department.

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 Departments 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.