10 Mr. L. Burke asked the Minister for Education and Science if the allocation of resources in 1998 for dealing with substandard accommodation at primary level will be done in accordance with the proposed points system for ranking the priority of schools. [3633/98]

The current situation in respect of development of a points-based prioritisation system is that my Department is awaiting additional information from a consultant in support of his proposal. When this information is received, and considered, my Department will be in a position to advance the process of developing a suitable system. At this stage, I expect that my Department will be in a position to award a contract within the next month. I would like to point out that £39.353 million has been allocated in the 1998 Estimates for primary school capital buildings compared to a provision of £27 million in the 1997 Estimates. Eliminating sub-standard accommodation at primary level is a Government priority.