Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 177: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will request that the relevant officials in his Department facilitate a meeting with a delegation from a group of schools (details supplied) seeking to advance the development of a new education campus in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13583/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I can confirm to the Deputy that my Department has no record of receiving proposals in relation to the development of a new education campus in the area to which he refers. It is open to the schools in question to furnish details of their proposals to the Department for consideration initially. In regard to the Post Primary School, in line with the requirement identified for educational provision in the Monasterevin area, my Department has sought the assistance of, and is working closely with the relevant Local Authority in relation to identifying and acquiring a suitable site for a new building for the Post-Primary school referred to by the Deputy. Due to the commercial sensitivities pertaining to site acquisitions generally I am not in a position to comment further at this time.

As the Deputy is aware, total enrolment in both primary and post-primary schools is expected to grow by almost 70,000 between now and 2018 (over 45,000 at primary level and 25,000 at post primary) and will continue to grow up to at least 2024 at post-primary level. The priority now is to focus on major school projects and smaller projects devolved to schools to meet the demographic demands. The primary aim will be to ensure that every child will have access to a school place. The Deputy will also be aware that yesterday I announced details of 219 new major school building projects which will begin over the next five years as part of a €2 billion capital investment programme. These new projects are in addition to 56 major school building projects that I already announced to go on site in 2012.