Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 781: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her proposals to ensure sufficient advance planning and discussions with existing school authorities with a view to ensuring sufficient school accommodation for the future; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34356/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The process of assessing the need for new or additional educational facilities at primary or post-primary level in any given area entails consideration of all relevant factors, including enrolment and demographic trends, housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places. Liaison with existing schools is also an important part of the process. In this way, every effort is made to ensure that there is adequate existing provision and that timely arrangements are made to extend capacity or provide new infrastructure where necessary.

In addition, Local Authorities are obliged by statute to refer draft local area development plans to the Department for observation and comment so that lands can be zoned for future education use. There are numerous sites reserved for education purposes, particularly in the rapidly developing areas, under this process so as to ensure that there will be sufficient land set aside and available for the future development of education infrastructure. Over and above the statutory consultation provisions in relation to local authority draft area development plans, my Department has in recent years worked to strengthen contacts with local authorities to enable informed decisions to be made in planning future educational provision.

My Department also makes extensive use of data from the Census of Population for a variety of purposes including long-term projections of enrolment at national and local level and when drafting its own area development plans and planning school provision for likely enrolment at local area level.

The Deputy may be aware that the Programme for Government includes a commitment to establish a Developing Areas Unit in my Department. This Unit has been established and forms part of my Department's planning and building division. The Unit will be solely dedicated to progressing school planning in rapidly developing areas building on improvements that have already been made in school planning in recent years. Staff in the unit will liaise with local authorities etc., identify where new schools are needed and ensure that they are delivered in the fastest possible timeframe.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 782: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of children throughout the country accommodated in prefabricated or other temporary structures in all primary schools including scoileanna lán gaeilge; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34357/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The information requested by the Deputy is not available in the Department. However, every effort is made to keep the expenditure on the rental of temporary accommodation, including prefabs low. It should be noted that less than 5% of the almost € 495 million that was invested in school buildings last year, went on the rental of temporary accommodation. Where accommodation is needed at very short notice, however, a temporary solution can be the only option. Such accommodation may also be used where the need is short-term, such as when a school requires a temporary building while it is awaiting the completion of construction of permanent facilities.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 783: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the extent to which she expects to approve the provision of extra second level all-Irish colleges; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34358/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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New or additional second level all Irish schools can be established in either of two ways — either under the Department's normal planning processes or by way of an application by a sponsor/Patron. With regard to the former, it is the function of School Planning Section to assess the educational infrastructural needs of an area at both primary and post primary level and to plan, in that context, for the establishment of new schools/ gaelcholáistí where this is deemed necessary.

The process of assessing the need for new or additional facilities entails consideration of all relevant factors, including enrolment and demographic trends, housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places.

Apart from this, it is open to a prospective sponsor to apply for the establishment of a new post primary school/gaelcholáiste. In this event, among the criteria used to assess an application are: that the needs of students likely to attend the school cannot reasonably be met by existing schools; the Patron is registered with the Department; the proposed enrolment is sufficient to ensue that the school will be viable in the long term; the enrolment will be sufficient to ensure that the school can operate a broad and balanced curriculum; the availability of suitable accommodation for the school. and that the Patron will comply with the rules and regulations governing post primary schools and all relevant Sections of the Education Act, 1998.

The Department is happy to support the establishment of new Gaelcholáistí where a need is demonstrated.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 784: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when she expects to be in a position to provide permanent classroom accommodation for all children currently accommodated in pre-fabricated classroom structures; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34359/07]

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 with over €2.6 billion invested in upgrading existing school infrastructure and providing new school accommodation at both first and second-level. This 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.

The budget for 2007 is the first year of the roll out of the new NDP 2007-2013 which will involve an investment of over €4.5 billion in school buildings. This funding will enable the Department to continue to take a proactive approach to the provision of modern school accommodation particularly in developing areas. This year alone over €540 million will be spent on school building infrastructure with over 1,500 projects which will ultimately deliver over 700 classrooms to provide permanent accommodation for over 17,500 pupils, mainly in developing areas. The Department will target funding, as appropriate, in order to ensure that additional school accommodation is provided in developing areas within the earliest possible timeframes.

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 the Department to concentrate on the larger scale projects.

The focus within the Department is also to empower schools to resolve their accommodation needs, wherever possible, by way of permanent accommodation as evidenced by the introduction of two new initiatives, the Permanent Accommodation Initiative and the Small School Initiative. The purpose of these initiatives was to allow primary schools to undertake a permanent solution to their classroom accommodation needs and, where possible, to obviate the need for temporary accommodation. Forward planning has been improved through greater cooperation with Local Authorities and the publication of 10-year Area Development Plans.

With regard to expenditure on the rental of temporary accommodation, including prefabs, every effort is made to keep this expenditure low. It should be noted that less than 5% of the almost € 495 million that was invested in school buildings last year, went on the rental of temporary accommodation. Where accommodation is needed at very short notice, however, a temporary solution can be the only option. Such accommodation may also be used where the need is short-term, such as when a school requires a temporary building while it is awaiting the completion of construction of permanent facilities.