Vol. 547 No. 2
21 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science the degree to which he or his Department has identified the extent of substandard classroom accommodation or other facilities throughout the country; the number of primary and second level schools which need attention arising from such a review; the number of students affected; when a likely programme to address the issues raised will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2846/02]
Over the lifetime of the Government, my Department has identified a significant range of primary and second level schools where facilities require to be upgraded and put together a record programme of works that comprise new build, extensions to existing buildings and upgrading of existing facilities. This has been possible because of the Government's unprecedented and sustained investment in first and second level educational infrastructure. Last year alone, more than €316 million was expended on schools' infrastructure and in the current year a sum in excess of €335 million has been allocated for school buildings. This is almost four times more than the 1997 allocation.
There has been a sea change in the level of activity in the building programme. A comparison between 1997 and 2001 demonstrates this. In 1997, only 22 primary schools projects of any significance were under way and only ten of these exceeded €318,000. In contrast, currently there are 79 primary school projects valued at over €318,000 each in construction. At second level, in 1997 only 12 projects were sanctioned compared to a record 125 projects each valued in excess of €635,000 incurring liabilities in 2001.
Over and above the programme of major works some 1,400 minor primary school projects were sanctioned in 2001 at a cost of €44 million. These are projects each valued at less than €318,000. At post-primary level, in 2001 there were in excess of 650 minor projects incurring over €31 million. These were projects each costing less than €634,000. Hundreds more schools will receive funding for minor works this year to meet urgent needs as they arise.
To support this expanded building programme going forward and to facilitate the more precise targeting of available funding, my Department has recently commenced a pilot inventory of school accommodation in County Kildare. It is intended to use experience gained in the pilot phase of the project to expand the inventory nationwide. Over the next number of months, each school in the pilot area will be visited by qualified personnel who will assess and report on site conditions, space norms within the schools and the overall condition of each school. Ultimately, all the data accumulated will be stored electronically on a geographic information system database and will be of great value in prioritising capital funding for first and second level projects.
