asked the Minister for Education how many primary schools were (a) applied for, (b) sanctioned, and (c) erected, in each of the years 1951 to 1955, inclusive.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Provision of Primary Schools.
The following is the information asked for in regard to the sanction of grants and the erection of new schools in each of the five financials years covered by the Deputy's question:—
|
Year |
Grants Sanctioned |
New Schools erected |
|
1950/51 |
52 |
34 |
|
1951/52 |
55 |
49 |
|
1952/53 |
61 |
31 |
|
1953/54 |
65 |
70 |
|
1954/55 |
82 |
53 |
I regret I am unable to give the Deputy the information which he asks for at (a) of his question, as a separate record is not kept. Since, however, a grant for the erection of a new school cannot be sanctioned without the managers having made an application, the figures which I have given as to the number of grants sanctioned indicate the rate at which such applications are being effectively made.
I may add that, apart from the provision of entirely new buildings, a heavy programme of enlargement and improvement of existing school buildings is being covered. In the five years referred to grants to a total of almost £1,300,000 were sanctioned for schemes of extension and improvement at 1,527 schools.
Do the figures given by the Minister not show that there is something wrong as between the actual number of grants sanctioned and the number of schools erected? Can the Minister say if the cause of the delay in having the schools built after the grants are sanctioned is the fact that the managers are having difficulty in raising the necessary money locally?
That seems to be a separate question.
When a grant is sanctioned it is evidence that the manager has the money, so that any difficulty about raising the local contribution arises before the grant is sanctioned.
I was not aware that the money was available before the sanction had been sought because I know of one particular case where the manager is having extreme difficulty in raising the money. As a result, the school, whose erection was sanctioned almost 12 months ago, has not been built and it is urgently needed.
When a grant is sanctioned there is a firm undertaking on the part of the manager that the local contribution would be £x, £y or £z as the case may be, and we have enough things to trouble us in dealing with these matters without wondering whether the manager has the last shilling or the last pound in his hand. However, we do not usually have difficulty in getting the grant paid up when there is agreement that the grant will be paid up. Any delays that occur for a manager in reaching a point at which the grant can be sanctioned arise out of finding a site, having a site approved and having the title to the site established.
Can the Minister then say what is the cause of the delay between the sanction of the grant and the erection of the school?
When the grant is sanctioned plans have to be prepared, quantities must be taken out; the architect and the other people concerned have to do their work generally. I have mentioned in dealing with my Estimate that there has been a substantial lag between the total amount of the grants sanctioned, say, in the last seven years and the amount of money actually spent on the building of schools by reason of the fact that the technical staff in the Office of Public Works was not sufficient to deal with the volume of work that was involved due to the increasing number of grants the Department of Education was able to sanction. Every effort has been made during the last six months, at any rate, to improve that situation and such difficulties as arise through going the long way round and finding architects, and so on, have been cleared out of the way, and I hope to close the gap between the total amount sanctioned and the total amount actually spent in the shape of built schools.