My Department has not transferred ownership of any buildings to the various bodies mentioned in the years referred to by the Deputy.
My Department provides funding for school building projects to be constructed on lands owned by religious orders and other non-state bodies (e.g. diocesan trusts) to facilitate existing schools in the context of the school building programme and such buildings are owned by the landowner. Where a school applies for significant capital grant funding to facilitate a building project for a school, such funding is provided on the basis that it will be legally secured.
In relation to equipment, the Department provides funding on a devolved basis to all schools to purchase equipment. Such equipment is owned by the relevant school in question.
With regard to bodies under my aegis, the information sought by the Deputy in regard to state bodies under the aegis of my Department is not routinely collated by my Department. Officials are making enquiries with the aegis bodies and will respond to the Deputy as soon as possible.
The following deferred reply was received under Standing Order 42A
I refer to Parliamentary Question No. 23813/17 of 18/05/2017 in which you requested details on "the buildings including each and every publicly funded school, university or education related building and equipment worth in excess of €10,000 that was transferred in whole or in part from his department or a body under the aegis of his department to a religious order or body or a voluntary body or other non-State body in each of the years 2007 to 2016 and to date in 2017; the name of the religious order or body in question; the date of transfer; the value and purpose of the transfer; the consideration paid to the exchequer in return for the transfer of each of these assets; the buildings including each and every publicly funded school, university or education related building currently under construction which is being funded by his department or a body under the aegis of his department; the location it is intended to transfer in whole or in part to a religious order or body or a voluntary body or other nan State body; the projected value of the transfer; the purpose of the transfer; the amount spent to date; and details of equipment that is intended to be transferred."
In my reply which issued at the time, I had stated that the information supplied related to properties under my ownership only, and that information sought in respect of bodies under the aegis of my Department was not available at the time but would be forwarded to you separately.
This information has now been compiled and I can now confirm that a nil response also applies in respect of bodies under my aegis, i.e. no buildings or equipment in excess of €10,000 transferred.
