Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 516: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of primary classrooms that have neither toilet nor sink facilities; the recommended size for a mainstream classroom; the number of classrooms smaller in size than this recommendation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30834/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The current recommended size of a standard en-suite classroom with storage facilities is 80 m2. The rest of the information requested is not readily available in the format sought by the Deputy.

The funding of €4.5 billion to be provided under the new National Development Plan (NDP) for investment in school building Infrastructure, the largest investment programme in schools in the history of the State, will enable my Department to continue to upgrade existing facilities and ensure that school places are available where needed. This investment will allow my 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.

The budget for 2007 is the first year of the roll-out of the new NDP. This funding will enable my Department to continue to take a proactive approach to the provision of modern school accommodation particularly in developing areas. This year alone around 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.