Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:164 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of sub-standard primary schools in the country; his proposals for bringing them up to standard; and the timeframe involved. [26429/03]
Written Answers. - School Accommodation.
The major investment of recent years in upgrading school accommodation has resulted in new and enhanced school accommodation throughout the country. In the five years up to and including 2002, a total of €1,248 million was spent by my Department on primary and post-primary school buildings. This is a very significant investment. The Government remains committed to continuing this work and to consolidate the substantial progress that has already been made in order to ensure that the needs of schools throughout the country are met over time.
To ensure the long-term planning of capital provision through a precise and detailed identification of accommodation needs in schools, my Department has undertaken, on a pilot basis, a comprehensive inventory of accommodation of 115 primary and post-primary schools in County Kildare. The information gained from the survey will be placed on a geographic information system, GIS, database. My Department is at present undertaking a detailed assessment of the pilot phase of the inventory to determine the exact nature and extent of the nationwide survey.