The Department of Education is to provide funding of €491millon for 1300 building and modernisation projects in primary and post primary schools in 2006.
Outlining her spending plans for the coming year, the Minister for Education Mary Hanafin today said: "With €491m available to the schools capital programme in 2006, there will be over 1300 projects active in schools all over the country.
Ms Hanafin said: "This significant investment will allow me to continue to progress our major programme of school building and modernisation which includes improving equipment needed for new technologies and ICT".
"This is an increase of over 9 per cent in real terms on the 2005 allocation," she added.
Minister Hanafin said that there would be no carryover of funds into 2006.
"All capital funding allocated for 2005, including the €50m carryover from the previous year, has been spent by year end on the school building programme.
Since 2000, the Government has spent over €2billion improving the physical facilities available for primary and post primary schools."
The Minister said that starting early in the new year she would outline individual schools around the country that will benefit under the various parts of the programme throughout the year.
Ms Hanfin said that €277 million would be targeted at primary schools with €204 million going to the post-primary sector. An allocation of €10 million is for new technologies and ICT.
It is expected that up to 12 primary schools will be built using a standardised design model or a design and build process.
The first school built under this model opened in Balgaddy, Lucan in September 2005, having taken 10 months to build.