Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 237: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Science the criteria by which schools are being selected as recipients of the school building projects for 2010; when a school (details supplied) in County Wicklow will receive approval to build their new school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13421/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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A range of factors are considered before making a final selection of projects to progress to tender and construction as part of the school building programme.

Priority is established primarily on the basis of a project's band rating in accordance with the Criteria for Prioritising Large Scale Projects, details of which are published on my Department's website. However, there is a range of other factors taken into account in the selection of projects.

These factors include: the need to achieve an appropriate balance of capital expenditure on a multi-annual basis between primary and post-primary building projects the need to ensure that contractual commitments are not entered into in any particular year which might not be capable of being met in future years the need to ensure adequate funding is available for the purchase of sites for key projects the need to provide additional school places in rapidly developing areas to meet increasing demand while at the same time balancing this with the need to maintain investment in the improvement of existing school buildings. the stage of progression through the architectural design process, that is whether or not the project is technically ready to proceed to tender and construction

All of these factors have to be considered before making a final selection of projects for the purposes of developing a school building programme.

The Deputy will be aware that in February, the Minister made an announcement regarding projects to enter architectural planning and to proceed to tender and construction. Unfortunately, it was not possible to include the school referred to by the Deputy in this announcement.

Due to industrial action on the part of some staff in the Department of Education and Science, I am not in a position to give full details of the project for the school referred to by the Deputy.

The progression of all large scale building projects, including the project for the school in question, from initial design stage through to construction will be considered in the context of the school building and modernisation programme. However, in view of the level of demand on the Department's capital budget, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project at this time.