Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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Question 72: To ask the Minister for Education and Science, further to her reply to Parliamentary Question No. 64 of 13 November 2007, the location of the 700 classrooms which were due to begin construction in 2007 as part of her Department's school building programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33421/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The budget for 2007 is the first year of the roll out of the National Development Plan 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. The Department is planning for an expected 100,000 additional school places over the lifetime of the Plan. This year alone over €540 million will be spent on school building infrastructure with over 1,500 projects on the Department's school building programme. Construction in 2007 alone will ultimately deliver over 700 classrooms to provide permanent accommodation for over 17,500 pupils, mainly in developing areas. Department will target funding, as appropriate, in order to ensure that additional school accommodation is provided in developing areas within the earliest possible timeframes.

The location of the schools where the 700 classrooms are being provided is included in the table.