Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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500. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to allocate funds to repair school playgrounds (details supplied) in County Kildare which have been identified for repair since 2012; if she is aware that funding for such repairs was previously allocated, but then withdrawn; if she is further aware that the condition of both playground areas has deteriorated significantly to date, representing a serious safety risk to children and staff; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5221/16]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I can confirm that an extension to the first named school referred to in the details supplied by the Deputy was completed in recent years and I understand that all snags were remedied to the school's satisfaction. My Department has since provided a grant to the school to widen footpaths and install ramps and has no record of funding having been allocated to the school and then being withdrawn.

In the case of the second named school, an application was received under the Emergency Works Scheme for works to the playground in 2015. This application was refused as it was outside the scope of the Scheme. It was suggested to the school that it could consider submitting an application for the works under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) 2016/2017 and it has now done so. Commensurate with the level of funding available for the Scheme, applications including that from the school concerned, will be assessed on a top down basis in accordance with the prioritisation criteria outlined in the governing Circular Letter for the Scheme. This Circular Letter (0055/2015), is available on my Department's website www.education.ie. It is my intention to publish a list of successful applicants in due course.

For any urgent works, such as those referred to by the Deputy, it is open to both schools to use their Minor Works Grant, which was paid to the schools last November, to carry out the most urgently needed works at the schools in full or in part as that grant permits.