Vol. 574 No. 3
167 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Education and Science the amount available in the post-primary contingency fund; if he will consider sanctioning the provision of the covered walkway at Confey College, Leixlip, County Kildare from the fund if finance is still on hand at 1 December 2003; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27015/03]
There is a contingency sum, for emergencies, set out in the 2003 school building programme to deal, as best as possible, with the most urgent needs in schools. This fund is managed in such a way as to grant-aid the most urgent requests from schools. My Department does not envisage being in a position to allocate funding for the covered walkway at Confey College, Leixlip, County Kildare.
168 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Education and Science if any of the new offices of his Department in the past ten years have been built or rented only to be left without proper office and furniture equipment; his views on whether this would be an entirely inappropriate scenario; his further views on whether it is appropriate to leave the North Kildare Educate Together school without basic furniture following his refusal to sanction a furniture grant for the new school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27016/03]
My Department has provided in excess of €4 million for a new eight-classroom school including a double autistic unit for North Kildare Educate Together school. To date, my Department has provided €6,500 for furniture and equipment in the school's newly established autistic unit. My Department is in contact with the school in relation to their application for additional grant-aid for furniture.
169 Mr. O'Dowd asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the recent meeting he had with the parents of students attending Scoil Mhuire Fatima, Dublin Road, Drogheda, County Louth. [27020/03]
I was approached by representatives of Scoil Mhuire Fatima on my way into a function in Drogheda recently. They presented some documents to me on their case for consideration for inclusion in the building programme 2004 and read a statement about the situation. I accepted both documents and indicated to them that they would be considered along with all other school applications for inclusion in the building programme 2004.
