James Bannon (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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Question 113: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the proposed new national school (details supplied) for Stonepark, County Longford; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34795/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The school to which the Deputy refers has applied to my Department for capital funding for an extension. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a Band 1 rating. There are four band ratings under the prioritisation 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.

Information in respect of the current school building programme along with all assessed applications for major capital works, including this project, is available on the Department's website at www.education.ie. 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 the Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in light of current competing demands on the Department's capital budget, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of a project at the school in question at this time.

Meanwhile, in order to meet the school's immediate accommodation needs, I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the school was approved capital funding in March 2010 on a devolved basis to provide an additional mainstream classroom and three resource rooms. It was open to the school to utilise the funding towards a permanent structure or to purchase prefabs. I understand that the school has since purchased prefabs and that works are currently in progress to place the accommodation on site.