The building project for the School referred to by the Deputy is at an early stage of architectural planning. This School was one of the sixty two schools that I announced in January of this year to start the architectural planning process.
A full Design Team has been appointed to bring the proposed building project through the various stages of architectural planning.
Kildare VEC has allocated a three acre site from within the twenty acre Piper's Hill Campus for the School in question. It is expected that the Piper's Hill site will be transferred to the ownership of Kildare VEC in the near future.
The proposed new school consists of an area of 2215m2. In September of this year a letter issued to the School Authorities and the Consultant Architects on the project giving approval to carry out a combined stage 1/ 2 (Outline sketch scheme with costings) submission. When this information is received in my Department, officials will be in further contact with the school Authorities and the Design Team as to how best to further progress this project.
Progression of projects to tender and construction will be considered in the context of the 2006 to 2010 Schools Building and Modernisation programme.