Gay Mitchell
Ceist:64 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Science the basis on which a school can trigger land acquisition by his Department for school development; and the budget available in 2000 for this purpose. [25233/99]
Written Answers. - School Accommodation.
Under the new funding arrangements for primary and post-primary schools which I announced in January of this year, the Department will purchase a site for a new school where a clear need has been identified. In cases where land is purchased by the Department, ownership remains vested in the State and the school buildings to be provided on the land will be leased to the patrons under a lease or deed of trust.
There is no question of a school automatically "triggering" the acquisition of land. A decision to purchase land is only taken by my Department after exploring all other alternatives for the provision of the accommodation in question, such as, for example the refurbishment of an existing school.
Where it arises, funding for land acquisition in 2000 will be met from the Estimates provision for school buildings, which for post-primary schools will be £100 million and for primary schools £79 million.