Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 21 March 2012
200 Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the stage of a proposed building project for a school in Dublin (details supplied); when the project will proceed to the next stage; the likely timescale for this project to progress to construction stage in view of the fact that it is not included in the Department’s recently published five year programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15801/12]
View answerIn view of the need to ensure that every child has access to a school place, the delivery of major school projects to meet the demographic demands nationally will be the main focus for capital investment in schools in the coming years. The five year programme announced recently is focused on meeting those demographic needs. In that context, it was not possible to advance all applications for capital funding concurrently. The building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning. The Stage 2(a) Submission (Detailed Design) was approved 24th February 2012 and the project was authorised to proceed to complete stage 2(b) which includes securing the necessary statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documents. School building projects currently in architectural planning, including the project referred to by the Deputy, will continue to be advanced incrementally over time within the context of the funding available. However, in light of current competing demands on the Department's capital budget, it is not possible to progress this project to tender and construction at this time.
