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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 Oct 2003

Vol. 572 No. 6

Written Answers. - Schools Building Projects.

Seán Crowe

Ceist:

205 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Science if an official from his Department (details supplied) visited Loughanure national school in County Donegal, in September 2001; if the purpose of his visit was to draw up a three classroom plan for the school; if such a plan was drawn up; if so, the reason it was never presented to the parents, teachers and board of management of the school; if his Department still have this plan and if it will now release it; and if the plan was not developed, the reason therefor. [23927/03]

A project for a one classroom extension and conversions at Loughanure national school in County Donegal had reached planning stage when the board of management requested a change in the original accommodation brief. A re-assessment of the long-term accommodation needs of the school was subsequently carried out by the planning section of my Department and a revised accommodation brief to cater for a principal and three mainstream assistants plus a remedial teacher was recommended.

A member of the technical staff of the building unit of my Department visited Loughanure national school in County Donegal in September 2001. The purpose of the visit was to carry out an architectural assessment of the school in order to determine the suitability of the existing site and school premises to facilitate the long-term accommodation needs of the school, based on the recommended brief at the time. A formal plan for the proposed project at Loughanure national school has not been drawn up.

In order to determine the appropriate level of accommodation which should be provided at the school, factors such as current and projected enrolments, staffing and the demographic trends in the area must be thoroughly examined. In addition, there are technical issues which must be resolved before further progress can be made. A technical examination indicates that the building is structurally sound.

The timing of when individual projects can progress to architectural planning will depend on the budgetary provision for 2004 and subsequent years, the rate of progress with existing projects in architectural planning and the priority afforded to each project by reference to the published criteria for prioritising large-scale building projects. In the meantime, individual schools should, as appropriate, use their devolved grant to deal with any urgent health and safety works.

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