Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2004
40 Aengus Ó Snodaigh asked the Minister for Education and Science the nature of the set modern standards for school buildings; and if he has a strategy for ensuring that every school building attains those set standards. [14254/04]
View answerThe Government's major investment of recent years in upgrading school accommodation has resulted in new and enhanced school accommodation throughout the country. Since 1997 almost €2 billion has been invested in the school building programme at primary and post-primary level, the largest investment programme in the history of the State. This is a very significant amount of investment. This level of investment will need to be maintained if the goal of eliminating substandard accommodation is to be achieved. The Government remains committed to continuing the work that it has started and to consolidating the substantial progress that has already been made in order to ensure that the needs of schools throughout the country are met over time.
The budget announcement regarding multiannual capital envelopes is further evidence of the Government's commitment and will enable me to adopt a multiannual framework for the school building programme. It will enable my Department to provide greater clarity for all education partners concerning the progress of individual projects in accordance with set standards.
The standards to be employed derive from the planning guidelines for primary and post-primary schools published by my Department. These planning guidelines are available to schools and set out the detailed standards for modernisation that can be employed by design teams working on school building projects. The guidelines are reviewed regularly in order to secure best value for money in relation to educational requirements and architectural design. Technical guidance documents in relation to design and other requirements are available on my Department's website at www.education.ie.
