Vol. 552 No. 4
149 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Science if his Department will expedite the application from Loreto College, Mullingar, County Westmeath, for additional accommodation and refurbishment works; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12650/02]
The allocation for post-primary buildings in 2002 is in excess of €182 million, which is a record level of funding and demonstrates this Government's commitment to improving accommodation in post-primary schools. This is almost four times the previous Government's investment in 1997.
Due to the greatly increased level of investment in the post-primary buildings area since this Government came into office, there has been a substantial increase in the number of major and minor building projects in construction and this has given rise to a record level of building and refurbishment activity.
My Department has received a design team procedure's stage 2 submission – i.e. outline sketch scheme – from Loreto College regarding its application for additional accommodation and refurbishment works. The building unit staff is currently assessing the documentation and will revert to the school authority as soon as possible.
