Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 26 Jun 2002

Vol. 553 No. 6

Written Answers. - School Accommodation Inventory.

Seymour Crawford

Question:

113 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Education and Science the way in which he intends to carry out a national assessment and inventory of the conditions of school buildings; when this inventory will be carried out; when it will be completed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14781/02]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey)

In 2001 my Department's planning and building unit initiated the EU tender process for a pilot project involving the organisation and undertaking of a comprehensive inventory of accommodation, including production of site and building survey drawings and general building condition reports, of 115 primary and post-primary schools in County Kildare and the compilation of the resulting information on a geographic information system database.

The main purpose of this project is to aid the long-term planning of capital provision through a precise and detailed identification of accommodation needs in each of the schools.

The EU tender process for this project has been completed. The successful surveying teams commenced work in January. Over the next number of 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 the GIS database. It will be of great value in prioritising capital funding for first and second level projects.

The pilot project is expected to be completed by September. It is intended to use experience gained in the pilot phase of the project to expand the inventory nationwide.