Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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130. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the recommended floor space and play space per pupil in each school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48013/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has produced a suite of technical guidance documents, which are available on my Department's website, www.education.ie, to assist design teams in best practice in the design and development of schools in green field site situations. These documents cover all aspects of the development of a building project for both internal and external works. The current practice is to use a guideline of 80 sq. metres as the standard size for a general primary school classroom. This space allows for the inclusion of two en-suite toilets and in room storage. Due to the varied nature of subject provision under the post-primary curriculum, the guidelines for classroom size in a new or refurbished post-primary school are more complex and can vary from 49 sq. metres for a general classroom up to 136 sq. metres for some of the larger specialist subject rooms.

In the case of existing schools and given the limitations of existing buildings, site conditions and funding availability, it is not always possible to achieve the level of accommodation that is provided with a new school design. For example, ensuring the availability of sufficient playground space can be much more difficult particularly in town and city locations. However, such limitations can often be addressed through the use of a school's general purpose room together with the arranging of access to local community facilities and amenities.