Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 January 2014
79. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the proposed building project for a school (details supplied); the current stage of this project; when the project is likely to proceed to the next stage; the likely timescale for construction; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3359/14]
View answerThe major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is at an advanced stage of architectural planning - Stage 2b - Detailed Design. Planning permission and a disability access certificate have been secured for this project. A decision by the local authority regarding the application for a fire certificate is awaited. Once all statutory approvals are secured the design team will prepare and submit the stage 2(b) submission for consideration by my Department.
Due to competing demands on the Department's capital budget imposed by the need to prioritise the limited funding available for the provision of additional school accommodation to meet increasing demographic requirements it was not possible to include this project in the 5 year construction programme announced in March 2012.
However, school building projects, including the project referred to by the Deputy, which were previously initiated but not included in the current five year construction programme will continue to be progressed to final planning stages in anticipation of the possibility of further funds being available to the Department in the future.
