Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 401: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Science if she will confirm that all new school buildings approved by her Department have physical education halls as part of the project; if this is not the case, the total number without PE halls built in the past two years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16770/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Physical education facilities are included as an intrinsic part of the design of all permanent new school building or refurbishment/extension projects. In rapidly developing areas where a project is delivered on a phased basis, the emphasis has been on the provision of sufficient school places to cater for the needs of new or rapidly growing communities. In such circumstances the provision of the general purpose hall is generally not provided in the first phase of the building project.

In the past two years a total of 27 school projects were built where the inclusion of a general purpose\physical education hall did not form part of the initial development. Two of these schools have subsequently had a general purpose hall provided as part of the phase two development while a number of the remaining projects are currently in architectural planning for the delivery of subsequent phases.