Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 April 2012
239 Deputy Sandra McLellan asked the Minister for Education and Skills further to a Dáil debate on 23 April 2008 regarding a school (details supplied) in County Cork, if he will reconsider the school’s omission from the new school building programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19758/12]
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 early stage of architectural planning. The Design Team are currently working on the Stage 2a Submission (Developed Sketch Design). 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 my Department's capital budget, it is not possible at this time to progress this project to tender and construction stage.
