Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 167: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an exemption will be made for a school (details supplied) in Dublin 10 at the end of this calendar year to allow all necessary upgrades to take place. [33219/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy applied for funding under the 2011 Summer Works Scheme.

A list of 453 successful schools was announced on 30 March 2011. Applications from schools for gas, mechanical and electrical works were prioritised under the Summer Works Scheme funding this year and I regret that the application made by the school in question was not selected. A letter to this effect has issued to the school.

While further funding has been made available for school projects under the Government's Jobs Initiative, I regret that the application was also unsuccessful under the Initiative as it was necessary to prioritise some categories of works over others.

The Deputy will be aware that the most recent projections are forecasting a substantial increase in enrolments at both primary and post primary level in the coming years. The delivery of new schools, together with extension projects to meet the increase in demand, will be the main focus for capital investment in schools in the coming years. It is not therefore possible to make the exemption requested by the Deputy.