Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 90: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of primary school sites that were purchased in 2005, 2006 and 2007; the location of each site; the cost of each site; the sites which have planning approval confirmed; the sites which have commenced construction work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19723/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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In 2005, 2006 and 2007, legal formalities were completed by my Department for the acquisition of 36 sites for primary schools at a cost in excess of €66m. I am arranging to have a tabular statement prepared in respect of all of the sites in question outlining the position relating to planning and construction on these and I will forward this information to the Deputy immediately. However, due to commercial sensitivity, it will not be possible to provide costs associated with specific sites.

It is expected that the acquisition of sites will continue to accelerate in the coming years as a result of the increasing need for school accommodation arising from demographic trends. The cost of any site is determined both by the amount of land required to accommodate the size of the school together with the value of land pertaining in the actual location of the proposed school. My Department seeks to purchase sites ranging from 2.5 to four acres in size, depending on the size of the primary school to be built. Typically, a new eight classroom primary school would generally be designed with a site area of 2.5 acres and a site of approximately 3 acres for a new sixteen classroom school. Larger schools would require four acres. These size guidelines are advisory and relate solely to the provision of new school buildings. Smaller sites are often considered — in particular, for urban areas where sites of this size are not always available and/or where the cost per acre is prohibitive.

Design Teams for school building projects work closely with the relevant local authorities to ensure that sites are developed in a manner compatible with local authority planning requirements. To meet the anticipated need for sites, my Department has also been developing in partnership with the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the City and County Managers Association a code of practice for planning authorities on the provision of schools in the planning system. It is intended that these guidelines will be issued in the coming weeks and should assist in the timely procurement of sites required for schools.