Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if further consideration will be given to the need to restore the proposed building project at a school (details supplied) in County Cavan to his Department's School Building Programme in view of the fact that the long term permanent accommodation needs of this school have long been finalised and agreed by his Department; if he will accept that the total reliance on temporary accommodation at a very high cost poses particular difficulties for this school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39531/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Due to competing demands on my Department's capital budget, imposed by the need to prioritise the limited funding available for the provision of additional school accommodation to meet increasing demographic requirements, it was not possible to include the project referred to by the Deputy in the five year construction programme.

As the Deputy is aware, schools which have not been included in the five year construction programme, but which were announced for initial inclusion in the building programme will continue to be progressed to final planning stages in anticipation of the possibility of further funds being available to my Department in future years. The project referred to by the Deputy remains available to be considered for progression in that context.

The major building project for the school concerned is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The Design Team are currently working on the Stage 2(b) Detailed Design and the project has been authorised to apply for Statutory Approvals which is part of the Stage 2 (b) process.

I can assure the Deputy that the use of temporary accommodation is avoided where possible, but sometimes it is the only feasible option to ensure that children have access to a school place. The delivery of projects to meet the increasing demographic demands will be the main focus for capital investment over the next 5 years, particularly in those areas where most future demographic growth will be concentrated.