Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2004
201 Mr. Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Science if his Department has received correspondence regarding the lack of primary and second level school places in the Ballycragh/Ballycullen area; the steps his Department intends to take in relation to this shortage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14427/04]
View answerOfficials of my Department's planning section meet on a regular basis with the planning department of South Dublin County Council with a view to identifying the need for additional educational provision and reserving sites for schools, where required. Arising from this process, a site for primary school purposes has been reserved in the Ballycullen area. A decision on the provision of a new school in Ballycullen will involve further consultations with the local authority regarding the rate and likely timescale of housing developments in the area, together with an ongoing assessment of the capacity of existing schools in the area to meet the anticipated demand.
A large-scale building project for Ballycragh national school is listed in section 9 of the 2004 school building programme, which is published on my Department's website at www.education.ie This project is at early stages of architectural planning. It has been assigned a band 2 priority rating in accordance with the published criteria for prioritising large-scale projects and it is planned to progress this project to the next stage of architectural planning during 2004.
My Department is confident that there is adequate provision within the post-primary providers in the immediate vicinity of Ballycragh/Ballycullen to meet emerging needs for post-primary places. However, the situation will be kept under review in my Department.
