Vol. 547 No. 2
2 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will publish the list of more than 800 applications from schools for major capital projects; the stage at which each application is; the basis on which approvals will be given for projects to proceed in 2002; and if he will notify schools of the 2002 building programme. [3053/02]
As a result of the Government's unprecedented and sustained investment in first and second level educational infrastructure, very substantial progress has been made in improving school accommodation in recent years. 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.
Clearly, it is not possible to wipe out in the lifetime of one Government the cumulative deficit of generations and also to deal with emerging needs at the same time. This Government from the outset has been committed to addressing that historical deficit in educational infrastructure and has set about rectifying the situation by allocating substantial funding in each of its budgets. The Taoiseach has very recently given a categorical assurance about our clear commitment to continuing with the work we have started and to build on the substantial progress that has already been made in recent years in order to ensure that the needs of schools right across the country are met.
To support that programme going forward and to facilitate the more precise targeting of available funding—
On a point of order, the Minister is not answering the question I tabled.
That is not a point of order.
I did not ask for background information. Will he provide a copy of the list of applications?
Please allow the Minister to continue, the Deputy will have an opportunity to ask questions.
—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—
Waffle.
—of the project to expand the inventory nationwide. Over the next few months, each school in the pilot area will be visited by suitably 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.
Waffle.
The Deputy will appreciate that with a capital allocation of the magnitude proposed for this year, the list of projects to be funded in the current year has not yet been finalised—
On a point of order, I must insist that the Minister stop wasting time and answer the question he was asked.
The Deputy must resume her seat and allow the Minister to continue.
He is going through pages of waffle.
The Deputy is aware that there are strict time limits on questions—
The Chair should protect our interests.
—and she is depriving herself of time to cross-examine the Minister.
I will repeat what I said in case the Deputy did not hear it. The Deputy will appreciate that with a capital allocation of the magnitude proposed for this year, the list of projects to be funded in the current year has not yet been finalised. Consequently, I am not yet in a position to publish a comprehensive list of projects for 2002.
That is not what the Minister was asked. I asked for the list of applications.
The list will, however, include projects already in construction that have to be completed, with projects that will go on site during the year as design, tendering and planning permission processes are completed.
This is absolute rubbish.
A question for the Minister.
The Minister has sought to deliberately mislead the House just as the Taoiseach last week, in his announcement about a survey, deliberately tried to mislead the House.
Deputy Shortall, it is not in order to accuse any Member of deliberately misleading. The Deputy will withdraw the term "deliberately misleading".
A Cheann Comhairle, my question is very simple—
If the Deputy does not withdraw the remark, she will have to leave the House.
My question is straightforward—
The Deputy must first withdraw the remark.
I will withdraw it on condition that the Minister answers the question before him.
There is no condition, it must be unconditional. The Deputy must withdraw the accusation unconditionally.
Will you give me a guarantee that you will protect our right to accurate information?
That is not the point. The Deputy must withdraw the accusation of deliberate misleading and she must withdraw it unconditionally.
A Cheann Comhairle, on a point of order—
There is no point of order when the Ceann Comhairle is on his feet.
I must ask the Chair to defend Members' rights—
No, the Deputy will have to leave the House.
—in ensuring that we get honest answers to straightforward questions.
The Deputy must withdraw the remark.
This is just nonsense. It is bringing us here to listen to utter waffle from the Minister—
Will the Deputy withdraw that remark?
—just as we had to listen to it from the Taoiseach two weeks ago.
The Deputy must withdraw from the House.
I am withdrawing my comment.
The Deputy must leave the House.
The Deputy withdrew the remark.
Does the Minister accept the withdrawal?
Yes.
On a point of order, a Cheann Comhairle—
The time for this question is now expired.
It is not.
On a point of order, a Cheann Comhairle—
The Deputy is not entitled to raise a point of order. It is Deputy Shortall's question and no other Deputy is entitled to interfere in the question of another Deputy. The Deputy cannot have a point of order.
It is the function of the Chair to protect Members' rights.
The Deputy is being disorderly. He must resume his seat or I will have to ask him to leave the House.
The Minister does not answer the questions that are asked of him.
The Deputy must resume his seat. I call Deputy Shortall.
On 4 December, at a meeting of the committee on education and science, I asked the Minister if he would publish the list, not this year's list, of all applications from schools for major capital projects – there are over 800 such applications. I asked the Minister to publish the list and to include the stage at which each of those projects were. On that day, the Minister gave an undertaking to do that. He did not do so within the next ten days so I followed the matter up by putting down a parliamentary question on 12 December. In his reply, the Minister said he was arranging to have a list of major schools building projects prepared and forwarded to me. Six weeks later the Minister has not produced the list. The Minister must honour the commitment he gave to me and other members of the committee on 4 December and publish that list before the end of business today.
I will quote from the Deputy's question. She asked me to publish "the list of over 800 applications from schools for major capital projects; the stage at which each application is; the basis on which approvals will be given—
Answer the question.
The Deputy should let me finish. She referred to the question.
The Minister is wasting time again.
The Deputy does not want to hear what her question said. It referred to "the basis on which approvals will be given for projects to proceed in 2002" and asked if I would "notify schools of the 2002 building programme". I replied—
The Minister is going to read the reply again.
Stop avoiding the issue. Answer the question.
Allow the Minister to finish.
The Deputy knows well—
Will the Minister publish the list as he said he would?
The time has expired for Question No. 2. We must proceed to Question No. 3.
The Deputy knows well that I got extra money in the budget and I have to allocate that before—
The Minister is misleading Members if he continues in that vein.
—I can publish a list along the lines sought.
He is misleading us just as the Taoiseach misled us. The Minister is a disgrace.
