John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 244: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application for major capital works at a school (details supplied) in County Carlow; if correspondence sent to his Department by the board of management has been processed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16936/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I can confirm that the school referred to by the Deputy has an application with the Department for a major school project involving school refurbishment and ancillary accommodation. Information in respect of the current school building programme along with all assessed applications for major capital works, including this project, is available on the Department's website at www.education.ie.

In view of the need to prioritise available funding for the provision of additional school accommodation, the delivery of major school projects required to meet demographic demands nationally will be the main focus for capital investment in schools in the coming years. The five year programme announced on 12th March is focused on meeting those demographic needs. It is not possible therefore to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of this school project at this time. I wish however to advise the Deputy that to meet its immediate accommodation needs, my Department sanctioned devolved funding to the school in June last to facilitate the building of a permanent additional mainstream classroom.