Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 January 2012
87 Deputy Patrick Nulty asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the need for a new permanent school building in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4440/12]
View answerThe acquisition of a site for the school to which the Deputy refers has reached pre-contract stage and outline Planning Permission has been received. The Office of Public Works on behalf of the Department are engaged in pre-contract enquiries in relation to the special conditions within the contract. Due to commercial sensitivities, I am not in a position to comment on the matter any further. Once the site acquisition process is concluded, the proposed school building project will be considered in the context of the capital budget available to my Department for school buildings generally.
The current status of all projects on the school building programme, including the school in question, may be viewed on my Department's website at www.education.ie and this will be updated regularly throughout the year. The Government's Medium Term Infrastructure and Capital Investment Framework, which was published on 10th November 2011, sets out the demographic challenge facing the education system in the coming years. In view of the need to ensure that every child has access to a school place, the delivery of major school projects and smaller projects devolved to schools to meet the demographic demands nationally as well as the demands in the area to which the Deputy refers, will be the main focus for capital investment in schools in the coming years. I have previously committed to publishing shortly a five year plan outlining the school building projects to be constructed in that time.
