Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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As the Deputy may be aware my Department has met on several occasions with both the GAA club and Dublin City Council, in their respective capacities as the land-holders and as the planning authority, to negotiate with both parties an acceptable solution for the provision of a new school building on the site currently occupied by the school. The net result of these discussions was that after having gone through a number of potential design solutions, an optimal design solution was agreed in principle which would have regard to a number of factors such as the restricted nature of the site, the existing facilities on the overall site, the concerns of the planning authority in relation, inter alia, to traffic management issues and the concerns of the GAA Club in relation to their existing playing pitches.

To this end, my Department is now in the process of working up a detailed planning application based on the initial design solution discussed with the aforementioned parties. The Deputy may also wish to note that within the last few days Dublin City Council has advised my Department that the proposed disposal has been approved at a meeting of the Central Area Committee and the way is now open for the Elected Members to consider the disposal of that portion of the site being made available in accordance with Section 183 of the Local Government Act 2001. Once this acquisition is concluded, the proposed building project will be progressed in the context of my Department's School Building & Modernisation Programme.

Emmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 75: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of money paid by County Kildare Vocational Education Committee for the purchase of 40 acres of land at a location (details supplied) in County Kildare, for the development of a multi-school campus. [7020/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that due to commercial sensitivities pertaining to site acquisitions generally it is not my Department's policy to provide details of the purchase cost of sites recently acquired as it could jeopardize ongoing site acquisitions.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 76: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide funding for a building project (details supplied) in County Limerick; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7030/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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My Department has no record of having received an application for the building project referred to by the Deputy. If the school in question requires funding for a PE Hall, they should make an application in writing to my Department and it will be assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a band rating of 4.

The published prioritisation criteria 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 primary responsibility and current priority of my Department is the provision of school facilities for the effective delivery of the curriculum. The progression of all large scale building projects, 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.