John Cregan (Limerick West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 1118: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the progress being made regarding the approval for a new second level college at Croom, County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33137/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I can confirm that an application for large scale capital funding for a new second level college at Croom, County Limerick has been made to my Department. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned an appropriate band rating. Information in respect of the current school building programme along with all assessed applications for major capital works, including the project referred to by the Deputy, are now available on my Departments website at www.education.ie.

The priority attaching to individual projects is determined by published prioritisation criteria, which were formulated following consultation with the Education Partners. There are four band ratings under these criteria, each of which describes the extent of accommodation required and the urgency attaching to it. Band 1 is the highest priority rating and Band 4 is the lowest. Documents explaining the band rating system are also available on my Department's website.

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. Furthermore, my Department is now in the process of identifying school projects eligible for consideration for inclusion in the 4th bundle of Public Private Partnership projects and the school in question is being considered in that context. 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.