Vol. 554 No. 5
514 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of schools having difficulties in regard to purchasing sites for new school developments due to the insistence of his Department of having the land vested in the Department; if this is normal practice in regard to the acquisition of such land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15374/02]
The approval of the Department of Finance for the funding arrangements introduced in 1999 in respect of the acquisition of land for the provision of new schools was specifically on the basis that the land would remain in State ownership. Under no circumstances will my Department grant aid the purchase of land where it is intended that ownership will be vested in a body other than the State. School authorities are, of course, perfectly entitled to purchase land for school use from their own resources and my Department is quite prepared to facilitate this.
