Vol. 491 No. 7
219 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science the action, if any, he proposes to take on foot of the evaluation carried out by his Department of primary and second level educational requirements at Naas, County Kildare; if he can identify the way in which the second level needs of the area will be met in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13276/98]
Following on the evaluation of primary and second level accommodation requirements of the Naas area carried out by the planning section of my Department, a number of strategies were devised to cater for short and long-term needs in the area.
At primary level, temporary accommodation is being provided as a matter of urgency to cater for immediate needs. In the long-term, it has been decided that an additional primary school will be required. A suitable location for a new school has been identified and this is being pursued locally with the owners and the local authority.
At second level, building projects have been approved for all three postprimary schools in the centre. Two of these projects will provide additional permanent accommodation at Meánscoil Iognáid Rís and St. Mary's College. The third is a refurbishment of St. Patrick's vocational school which currently has around 120 vacant pupil places.
The appointment of a design team for the Meánscoil Iognáid Rís project is currently in progress. Proposals from the school in this regard are expected shortly. The school has also requested that the Department approve a further 100 pupil places in the extension. This matter will be processed as soon as possible.
The project at St. Mary's College has reached stage 4 of my Department's design team procedures, the detailed design stage. The submission of this stage is awaited from the school and, again, is expected shortly.
The indications are that there will be sufficient second level pupil places between the three schools to meet the immediate demand in the centre. It is anticipated that the building projects in hand will further ease any pressure for places. Developments in the centre will continue to be closely monitored by my Department to ensure that any additional emerging requirements are addressed as expeditiously as possible.
