Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 September 2015
1242. Deputy Michael McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding an application for capital funding by a post-primary school (details supplied) in Cork city for a sports hall; when a further announcement on the school capital programme is expected; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31058/15]
View answerI can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an application for the provision of a PE hall for the school in question. I wish to advise the Deputy that due to the competing demands on my Department's capital budget imposed by the need to prioritise available funding towards the provision of essential school classroom accommodation, it is not possible at this point to provide an indicative timeframe for the provision of funding for the sports facilities in question. In that regard however, significant funding was devolved to the school concerned in 2011 for the provision of four additional general classrooms to meet the schools immediate accommodation needs. If the school has any new or additional details in respect of their application, it is open to the school concerned to forward this to my Department for consideration. I also wish to advise the Deputy that I expect to be in a position to announce a successor construction programme later this year. As part of the preparatory process for the programme, a major detailed demographic analysis is currently underway in my Department to identify the particular areas across the country where additional new schools and extensions will be required to meet additional demographic demand.
