Vol. 568 No. 1
407 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science if his Department has carried out an audit of school accommodation at primary and second level throughout the country; if it has been determined that a number of schools currently breach health and safety standards and requirements; if he intends to take initiatives to address the situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16034/03]
In order to ensure the long-term planning of capital provision through a precise and detailed identification of accommodation needs in schools, my Department has undertaken, on a pilot basis, a comprehensive inventory of accommodation of 115 primary and post-primary schools in County Kildare. The information gained from the survey has been placed on a geographic information system, GIS, database. My Department is at present undertaking a detailed assessment of the pilot phase of the inventory to determine the exact nature and extent of the nationwide survey, having regard to available resources.
In accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, it is the responsibility of school management authorities to have a safety statement in place in their schools. Schools are obliged to identify possible hazards, assess the risks to health and safety and put appropriate safeguards in place.
Individual school authorities are responsible, in the first instance, for ensuring the safety and welfare of children and others in their care. Primary schools are given an annual allocation of €3,809 plus €12.70 per pupil under the grant scheme for minor works which can be used entirely at the discretion of school management to address basic health and safety issues relating to the school infrastructure. In addition, my Department has recently published the allocations to date from the contingency sum of €10.7 million in the 2003 programme to deal with emergency works, including emergency health and safety works, in primary and post-primary schools.
408 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he has received communication from boards of management or school authorities at various schools throughout the country indicating an urgent requirement for the provision of extra school accommodation; his plans to give a favourable response to the most urgent requests in 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16035/03]
411 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science the extent to which he proposes to respond to the urgent request for extra school accommodation at primary and second level throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16038/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 408 and 411 together.
The Government is determined to consolidate the substantial progress that has already been made in order to ensure that the needs of schools throughout the country are met over time. This year the school building programme amounts to €342.9 million. The 2003 programme will deliver over 140 large-scale projects at primary and post-primary level. In addition several hundred schools will benefit in some way from the capital programme and of course all primary schools benefit directly from the devolved grants scheme for minor works.
I have also introduced two new initiatives at primary level. First, I have put in place a pilot initiative that is aimed at devolving responsibility for the planning and construction phases of improvement works to school authorities. Specifically, the initiative is focused on small and mostly rural primary schools where the enrolment profile is stable. Twenty primary schools were invited to participate in the pilot phase of the initiative, which will be reviewed at the end of 2003 with a view to its expansion, subject to the availability of funding.
Second, I am endeavouring to reduce the level of temporary accommodation being provided. The new pilot initiative funds schools to respond quickly to accommodation difficulties. There is minimal interaction with my Department and the school is fully empowered to drive the design and construction processes. I fully expect that this initiative will inform future policy and that the scheme will be expanded to include more schools in future years.
The recent update of the school building programme sets out the most urgent of the additional temporary accommodation projects that are being funded in 2003. I am pleased to advise the House that, in line with the concept outlined in An Agreed Programme for Government for a multi-annual programme schools' modernisation fund, I am in ongoing discussions with my colleague, the Minister for Finance, to secure a four to five-year funding envelope for the schools' building programme.
