Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2005
550 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been drawn to the fact that a school (details supplied) in County Kildare is full and that its board of management is accepting no further enrolment of pupils in any classes for the school year commencing in September 2005; her plans to resolve the accommodation crisis at the school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21033/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am pleased to inform the Deputy that I have sanctioned the provision of an additional temporary classroom for the school to which he refers. The classroom will be in place for September 2005 to meet the anticipated demand for pupil places as identified by the school authority. Going forward, it is proposed to provide a new 16 classroom school to meet the long-term accommodation needs of the area. In this regard, the property management section of the Office of Public Works, which acts on behalf of my Department in relation to site acquisitions generally, has been instructed to explore the possibility of acquiring a suitable site for this development.
551 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Science if additional accommodation will be provided at a school (details supplied) in County Westmeath; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21034/05]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department does not have an application from the school to which he refers for additional accommodation. The Deputy will be aware that, where an immediate need arises for temporary accommodation to be provided to cater for an increase in enrolments straight away, the school can apply to my Department for temporary accommodation. Where a future need for permanent extra school places arises, the provision of extra permanent accommodation is considered under the new planning model for educational infrastructure which ensures, in future, school provision will be decided only after an open and transparent consultation process.
The main feature of the new model, being introduced initially on a pilot basis, is the publication of area development plans, which will set out a blueprint for schools' development in an area into the future. Included in the pilot is the area around N4-M4, which incorporates the locality referred to by the Deputy. The publication consultation process on this plan was recently completed and the Commission on School Accommodation hopes to be a position to publish its final plan shortly.
