Vol. 563 No. 2
205 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will review the grants and regulations which apply for new and developing schools in view of the difficulties encountered by many of them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7521/03]
I understand that the Deputy is referring to the procedures to be followed by patron bodies when seeking recognition for new schools in developing areas and the funding available subsequently for the provision of permanent accommodation for these schools, if recognised. Based on the recommendations of the commission on school accommodation, I have put in place a revised application procedure for new primary schools seeking official recognition. The revised procedure applies to schools intending to commence operation from 1 September 2003 onwards.
The revised arrangements involve a number of stages including: formal notification of intention to apply for recognition; public consultation and identification of need; formal application for recognition; assessment of the application by a new schools advisory committee, which will consult interested parties and report to me; decision by the Minister; and provision for appeal by applicant to an independent appeals committee. Full details of the applications procedure and the timeframe for consideration of applications for schools intending to commence operation in 2003-04 were circulated to the primary education partners and are also available on the Department's website at www.education.ie.
With regard to the funding of permanent accommodation for new schools in developing areas, the position is that the criteria used by my Department for prioritising large scale primary school building projects have been published and may also be found on my Department's website at www.education.ie. The budgetary allocation for 2004 and subsequent years will determine the rate of progress on projects that are not included in this year's programme.
