Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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511. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has received an application for capital funding to upgrade the facilities at Petersburg Outdoor Education Centre in An Fháiche in Contae na Gaillimhe; when a decision will be made on this application; if she will recognise the urgency of this request; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27449/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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It appears that the application referred to by the Deputy has not been received by officials in my Department.

Funding for outdoor education centres is approved on the basis that they are self-financing and that their financial activities would be separate from the overall ETB finances. Accordingly, my Department's annual grants are contributory in nature and the allocations go mainly towards the core staffing costs involved in running the centres.

In relation to the provision of general capital funding, I wish to advise the Deputy that in view of the funding constraints on my Department's capital budget imposed by the need to provide essential school accommodation, my Department is not in a position to consider applications for funding towards capital projects. However, in an emergency situation, it is open to ETBs to submit applications for funding for minor works on behalf of Outdoor Education Centres and these will be considered in the light of competing demands and available resources.