Vol. 543 No. 2
869 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will provide details of his recently reported decision to freeze the funding for the school building programme for 2002; the number of schools which will be affected by this decision; the level of funding involved; the rationale for such a decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27008/01]
No decision has been made to reduce the level of funding for the school building programme in 2002, nor have I made any public announcement to that effect. The Deputy will appreciate that there has been a massive and unprecedented increase in the funds allocated by this Government to the building programme at all levels. The allocation in the current year is £370.5 million – 470.4 million – which is almost four times the allocation made by the previous Government in 1997. This level of funding enabled my Department to undertake a record number of building projects, and it is my intention to continue this rate of progress in overcoming the deficit arising from many past years and in meeting the needs of the present day. Decisions relating to the rate of progress to construction of individual projects will be taken, as in previous years, in the light of the allocations to be made for school building purposes in the forthcoming Estimates.
Question No. 870 answered with Question No. 786.
