Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)
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Question 26: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills when a school (details supplied) in County Kerry will receive funding for needed renovations. [23819/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The school to which the Deputy refers has applied for large scale capital funding for a new school. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a band rating of 2.2.

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 Department's 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 next step with this project is for a design team to be appointed. On 16 February last, details of large scale capital projects where design teams will be appointed in this year under my Department's Capital programme for 2010 were announced. It was not possible to include this project in this announcement.

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.