The schools capital programme is to spend €491 million building and modernising primary and secondary schools, with 200 major school-building projects due for construction in 2006, Minister for Education Mary Hanafin said yesterday.
Over 1,300 projects costing upwards of €491 million will be under way in schools nationwide next year.
The announcement represents a 9 per cent increase on the 2005 capital allocation according to the Minister.
"All capital funding allocated for 2005, including the €50 million carryover from the previous year, has been spent by year end on the school-building programme. Since 2000, the Government has spent over €2 billion improving the physical facilities available for primary and post-primary schools," said Ms Hanafin.
Schools which are to benefit from the increased funding in 2006 will not be listed by the Minister until early in the new year. However, €277 million is expected to be provided to primary schools with the remaining €204 million allocated to second-level schools. The announcement of increased capital funding was welcomed by both the ASTI and the INTO yesterday.
General secretary of the INTO John Carr reiterated his call for the publication of all information in relation to school-building projects and added that the state of primary school buildings remains a priority area with teachers and parents.
"It is unacceptable that children have to go to school in damp and cold buildings where roofs are leaking and windows let in draughts. It is also not right that increasing numbers of our pupils are spending more and more time in prefabs . . . Prefabs should never be the normal classroom accommodation for primary schoolchildren," said Mr Carr.
ASTI general secretary John White added that the upgrading of certain school buildings was long overdue. "Given Ireland's economic success over the past number of years, it is unacceptable that some of our young people have to spend their days in sub-standard buildings," said Mr White.
While construction of 200 major school-building projects will start next year, a further 105 primary school projects and 62 post-primary projects will be advancing in architectural design. Ms Hanafin also hinted that a further 40 schools are to be approved for design work and will be announced in the coming weeks.
In an effort to address the need for more schools in highly populated areas, Ms Hanafin said she would use fast-track designs in up to 12 primary schools. Such schools will be built using a standardised design model or a design-and-build process, similar to the school opened in Lucan earlier this year which took just 10 months to build.
Upwards of 200 primary schools will also receive approval for devolved funding under the small school and permanent accommodation initiatives next year, in addition to the 153 schools that will have projects at construction during 2006 under these initiatives.