Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 April 2004
216 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason Mountmellick has been included in the pilot education project for County Laois with the Mountrath area; the objective of the project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10472/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe largely homogenous nature of the Mountmellick and Mountrath areas together with their relative close proximity to one another combine to make it a suitable starting point for an area development plan. Additionally, the imminent closure of Ballyfin College requires an exploration of all available options to cater for the residue of pupils following the closure. That is why it was thought that the Mountmellick-Mounthrath area should be considered in its totality under one plan. The purpose of area development plans, which is a radical new approach to school planning, is to ensure that, in future, the provision of school infrastructure will be decided only after a transparent consultation process. Thus parents, trustees, sponsors of prospective new schools and all interested parties from a locality will have the opportunity to make their voices heard in the process. Following the consultation process, individual plans will set out the blueprint for schools' development in an area covering a period of up to ten years. The plan will form the basis against which all capital funding decisions for the area will be made over that period of time.
