Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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Question 180: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if the proposed €100 million school technology investment funding will be drawn from his Department's capital funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42467/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I am making available €22 million in ICT grants for primary schools this year. I already had €9 million in my capital allocation for ICT. I am adding €13 million from the school building programme allocation this year to give a total allocation of €22 million. This €13 million represents about 2% of the overall allocation for school buildings this year. I have achieved significant savings on the schools capital programme this year, with tenders yielding a reduction of up to 30% compared to prices at the height of the construction boom.

Last year I was not in a position to provide grants for ICT equipment as the €10 million capital allocation for ICT was put towards the cost of the primary school building programme. The total amount of funding to be made available for ICT equipment next year is being considered as part of the overall Capital allocation that is to be agreed by Government.