Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 27 January 2005
204 Ms O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Science the amount she intends to spend in 2005 for the purpose of purchasing sites for new school buildings; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2316/05]
View answerThe property management section of the Office of Public Works acts on behalf of my Department in relation to site acquisitions generally. That office is currently pursuing a significant number of sites at the request of my Department for the provision of new school buildings. The cost of these sites has not been fully determined as negotiations are ongoing but I can assure the Deputy that sufficient funds will be available. I do not propose to comment further on site issues for commercial sensitivity reasons.
205 Ms O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Science the details of information received from each local authority in response to a letter sent by her predecessor requesting them to identify sites for educational purposes in their development plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2317/05]
View answerI am not aware of any specific letter issuing from my Department to local authorities in relation to a general request to include site reservations in development plans, however, I want to assure her that my Department has a number of pro-active strategies to ensure that the requirement for schools in developing areas are addressed in a timely manner.
The process of assessing the need for new or additional educational facilities at primary or post-primary level in any given area entails consideration of all relevant factors, including enrolment and demographic trends, housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet the demand for places. As part of this process, my Department is included among the prescribed authorities to whom local authorities are statutorily obliged to send draft development plans or proposed variations to development plans for comment. As a matter of course, meetings are arranged with local authorities to establish the location, scale and pace of any major proposed housing developments and their possible implications for school provision. Where emerging or potential need is identified it is the practice to request the local authority to reserve a site for educational purposes in its development plan.
Officials in the school planning section of my Department are strengthening contacts already in place or making contact with the planning authorities in each of the local authorities to enable informed decisions to be made in planning future provision. For example, a specific forum, the Dublin School Planning Committee, chaired by officials of my Department interacts with the Dublin local authorities. This forum comprises representatives of the local authorities in Dublin together with representatives of the patron bodies of primary schools. In addition, for a number of years officials in my Department have worked proactively with the four local authorities in the Dublin region in monitoring demographic changes and assessing the likely impact of planned new developments.
