Vol. 565 No. 2
31 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he intends to take remedial action to address the issue of the condition of schools at primary or second level where it is deemed that health and safety standards are breached arising from the condition of the buildings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10234/03]
In accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 1989, it is the responsibility of school management authorities to have a safety statement in place in their schools. Schools are obliged to identify possible hazards, assess the risks to health and safety and put appropriate safeguards in place. Individual school authorities are responsible, in the first instance, for ensuring the safety and welfare of children and others in their care.
Primary schools are given an annual allocation of €3,809 plus €12.70 per pupil under the grants scheme for minor works which can be used entirely at the discretion of school management to address basic health and safety issues relating to the school infrastructure. In addition, my Department has set aside a contingency sum of €10.7 million to deal with emergency works in primary and post-primary schools, including emergency health and safety works, during 2003.
