Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 102: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to accelerate the various procedures associated with the school building programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14751/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Programme for Government undertakes the prioritisation of school building projects in a revised national development plan.

I have already declared my intention to initiate the preparation of a five-year plan for educational infrastructure at primary and post-primary level having regard to demographic trends and the need to upgrade existing stock. Improved forecasting of demand for new school places through my Departments GIS system and more comprehensive information on existing school accommodation through improvements to the inventory on school accommodation will facilitate the development of this programme.

My Department has in place a number of approaches to delivering major projects under the school building programme. These include the traditional design process which has recently been enhanced through the introduction of a preliminary design meeting between the design team, the school authority and my Department to ensure a focused and targeted approach to the early stages of the design process. On a number of new projects where design teams were appointed this year, this approach has already shown indications that it can accelerate the early stages of the design process.

A Rapid "design and build" process which streamlines and speeds up the traditional processes in order to minimise the timeframe in getting a project on-site is also used where the new accommodation is urgently needed.

More recently, a pilot initiative has commenced under which projects are devolved to a VEC or Local Authority for delivery. A key aim of this initiative is to determine the scope for greater levels of co-operation between the Department and the VEC and local government sectors in developing school infrastructure, with a view to increasing the output of school building projects. I have also requested that my Departments Planning and Building Unit develop generic designs at post-primary level to enhance the speedy delivery of new post-primary schools. This approach will shortly be complimented by the development of a number of exemplar designs as part of the appointment of design teams on a number of new post-primary projects. Each of these approaches will have a role to play in delivering the required projects under the programme.