Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 149: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when a secondary school (details supplied) in County Offaly will be allowed proceed to phase two of its school building project; when he expects the start date for the proposed extension of the school to be announced in view of the fact that the school was burnt down eight years ago and is worthy of special consideration as a result; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19400/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Following a fire at the school to which the Deputy refers, the insurance proceeds were used by the management authority for the installation and rental of a significant amount of temporary accommodation, re-instatement works and for the upgrading of external areas. The temporary accommodation in question is of a very high quality and has a long life span. Consequently the Department purchased it outright.

To assist with the maintenance of the present buildings my Department has provided funding for roof repair works, an upgrade of the gas system and funding for certain demolition works for health and safety reasons.

I can confirm that this school has made an application to my Department for large scale capital funding. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a band 1 rating. The schedules of accommodation have been accepted by County Offaly VEC.

This project was not included in my announcement in February therefore it is unlikely it will be progressed in 2009. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in light of current competing demands on the capital budget of the Department, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project at this time.