When I publish the 2004 schools building programme, the Deputy and others will have a clearer picture of the position of schools and their future status. Mohill national school has been given band 1 status because it is an amalgamation. As I stated, the project is still in the early stages – one, two and three – and many other schools are ahead of it. Amalgamation and rationalisation proposals are guaranteed to proceed through the programme without undue delay and will not be stopped at various stages, whereas schools which are not amalgamating or rationalising go through various stages. Last year, we had to decide that none of the schools would proceed to the next stage. I assure the Deputy that because the school in question is an amalgamation, it will pass through the other stages relatively quickly towards tender, after which its progress will depend on cost.
As regards bands 1 and 2, where amalgamation or rationalisation are involved, the schools in question are given band 1 status, in other words absolute priority. The reason for this is that from the point of view of the Department amalgamation of two or three schools is good for children and the educational system in general.
The other category of band 1 school consists of those one would describe as an absolute disaster, which could mean, for example, a roof has blown off or similar serious circumstances have arisen. While not as bad as band 1, band 2 is serious and a high priority rating. I anticipate in general terms that both schools will make substantial progress in the next couple of years.