Vol. 436 No. 7
239 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for Education if an application has been received for a grant towards the building of a PE hall in St. McDara's Community College, Templeogue, Dublin 6; whether a decision has been made on this application; and when, in view of the Green Paper's emphasis on the importance of PE, the building of such a hall will be sanctioned for the 900 plus students in the college.
There is currently no application with my Department for the provision of a grant towards the provision of a PE hall at this school.
Due to demands on the capital resources available, priority has been given for some time to the provision of essential teaching spaces. As a result it is not possible in present circumstances to grant aid provision of physical education facilities at existing schools without such facilities.
As indicated in the Green Paper, the policy of providing indoor sports accommodation in schools will resume as soon as pressure on available resources for urgent classroom accommodation has eased.
