389 Mr. Boylan asked the Minister for Education and Science when he will sanction extra accommodation at Killycannon national school; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a fourth teacher has been sanctioned for the school from September 2002 and there is nowhere to accommodate this teacher; if his attention has further been drawn to the fact that the main building is over 100 years old; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6340/02]

The allocation for primary buildings in 2002 is €153.6 million, which is a record level of funding and demonstrates this Government's commitment to improving the accommodation situation in primary schools. This is almost four times the previous Government's investment in 1997.

Because of the greatly increased level of activity in the primary buildings area since this Government came into office, there has been a substantial increase in the number of major and minor building projects in construction and this has given rise to a record level of building and refurbishment activity.

My Department expects to be in a position during this year to give detailed consideration to an application from Killyconnon national school for improved accommodation as part of the expanded building programme. The school authorities will be informed of developments.