Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 475: To ask the Minister for Education and Science, further to Parliamentary Question No. 647 of 10 November 2009, if a template for physical education halls has been clarified; if projects were held up awaiting this template; if a school (details supplied) in County Tipperary will get the balance of funding from 2002 for the physical education hall; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41676/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy correctly states, a tender amount of €850,000 for the major restoration and refurbishment project at the school to which he refers was approved by my Department. This was the tender amount and with contingencies and extras arising on the contract, the final account was €1.08 million, as stated in my reply on 10 November 2009.

The Department has a template design for stand alone PE halls. However, the band rating, under the prioritisation criterion, for such a project is 4.1. The published prioritisation criteria 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. 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.