Brendan Ryan (Dublin North, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 162: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the situation in a school (details supplied) in County Dublin whereby students in fourth and fifth class are sent home when the weather gets too cold in view of the fact that the prefabs they are educated in are insufficiently insulated; his plans to improve the facilities in this school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41076/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

I can confirm that the school, to which the Deputy refers, has applied to my Department seeking funding to replace temporary accommodation in the school. The current status of all projects on the school building programme, including the school referred to by the Deputy, may be viewed on my Department's website at www.education.ie and this will be updated regularly throughout the year.

The temporary accommodation to which the Deputy refers is the property of the school. The responsibility for its maintenance therefore rests with the school authority. My Department has no record of receiving correspondence from the school relating to the matters to which he refers. However it is open to the school authority to prioritise the use of the funds that it recently received under the Minor Works Grant towards improvement works, it considers appropriate.

As the Deputy will be aware, the Government's Medium Term Infrastructure and Capital Investment Framework, which was published on 10th November 2011, sets out the demographic challenge facing the education system in the coming years. In view of the need to ensure that every child has access to a school place, the delivery of major school projects and smaller projects devolved to schools to meet the demographic demands will be the main focus for capital investment in schools in the coming years. On that basis, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project, referred to by the Deputy, at this time