Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 26 Nov 2002

Vol. 558 No. 1

Written Answers. - RAPID Programme.

Fergus O'Dowd

Ceist:

294 Mr. O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Science the RAPID projects his Department has funded in this financial year; the amounts requested; the amounts granted; and the moneys allocated under his budget Estimates for RAPID in 2003. [23737/02]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey)

I refer the Deputy to my earlier reply of Tuesday 19 November 2002 which sets out the overall position as regards my Department's support for RAPID areas.

To date I have allocated in excess of €1.8 million, most of which is in respect of the current financial year, in respect of RAPID project proposals submitted to my Department. These proposals relate to a number of areas including community and adult education, adult educational guidance services, school refurbishmentsextensions and third level access programmes. I am arranging to have details of these projects forwarded separately to the Deputy.

As regards the total amount of funding sought, it is not possible to quantify this as only some of the project proposals specify detailed costs; in many other cases, no costings have been included, and a number of projects are in outline form only. As regards the position for 2003, I refer the Deputy to my earlier answer and my commitment to continue to prioritise available resources to target the most disadvantaged communities, including the RAPID areas. I would also reiterate that very significant monies are already being allocated to RAPID under my Department's programmes and schemes for tackling educational disadvantage.