The Minister for Education has given the go-ahead for 122 major school building projects throughout the State over the next four years.
Some 89 primary schools and 33 post-primary schools will now be allowed to prepare tenders and move to the construction phase of their projects. They will be funded by €3.4 billion in funding secured for 2005-2009.
Ms Hanafin said the projects outlined today, which include schools in every county in the State, will go to tender and construction on a rolling basis.
"I am anxious to ensure that there is a continuous flow of projects moving to tender and construction over the next 12-15 months. While some of the projects will be ready to go on site earlier in the year than others, all of the projects should be capable of commencing construction in that timescale," Ms Hanafin said.
"The revised multi-annual funding announced in the budget means we can have a regular flow of projects and move away from the previous stop/start approach to planning the building programme.
"Other projects will be progressed through the design process so that a consistent flow of projects to tender and construction can be sustained into the future and I will be making further announcements in that regard shortly."
Ms Hanafin said there were also a number projects with commerical sensitivity awaiting site resolution, and that she was not listing them at this point.
This year, €270 million will be allocated to primary schools this year, with €223 million set aside for post-primary schools. The Minister said this represents an increase of 14 per cent on last year.
But Labour's education spokeswoman, Ms Jan O'Sullivan, said the package was disappointing and contained almost a third fewer projects than last year.
"I am pleased that 122 school projects have been given sanction to proceed to tender and construction but this is 50 fewer projects than were sanctioned last year. There is also a very loose timescale suggested for these projects - the Minister can only commit to a period running up until 2009," she said.
Ms Hanafin said there was no guarantee whatever that the projects sanctioned today would all proceed in 2005. "In reality, most of them will not progress this year," Ms O'Sullivan said.
"Minister Hanafin has tampered with the way the School Building Programme is rolled out. She is releasing information by stealth and is denying many schools the most up-to-date information on their particular project to give them clarity about where they stand in the School Building Programme," the Labour spokeswoman said.
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