If the Taoiseach is saying some people have too much money then obviously there are other ways to collect the excess. Will he answer some of those in very dilapidated schools? According to his list, he is planning to help them. Is he aware that many of the schools on the list, which is published in today's Irish Independent, thought they were already on the list and were going to get their improvements anyway? Is there a letter to be sent by the Department stating that the plans which were in place were undone and have now been put in place again? Many of those schools did not realise they were off the list and it is a surprise to them to see they are now mentioned in the newspapers as being restored to that list. What game is being played by the Department to give the impression it is caving into pressure and realising there is a need here which they did not recognise before?

I am surprised the Taoiseach is not more active on this issue as I see him in various schools as often as I see him here. Is he saying he was not aware of the rat-infested prefabs used by schools and that he has been visiting only solid structures? Where is the new information coming from which has given rise to the new plan for schools we see on the website?

Will the Taoiseach cease using terms of self-congratulation about spending €343 million on schools building projects? To put it in context, that sum is approximately one quarter of the annual emissions trading charge that will be levied on Ireland after 2008 due to our failure to come to grips with climate change. If the Taoiseach can only spend one quarter of that charge on schools, it will be a sorry day when we have to face up to our responsibilities under international obligations. He cannot give money to schools now, before we start paying the price for our failure to deal with international problems.

The Department of Education and Science set out the comprehensive list of schools, which the House has sought for some time, under all categories and stages back in January. The list to which Deputy Sargent refers is an update of the schools building programme and the changes are reflected in the details available on the Department's website. At the launch of the programme it was stated that the information would be updated regularly and the published programme clearly identified a contingency sum. That sum was required for accommodation, health and safety works and other urgent work which arose during the school year. The schools were listed on the website yesterday following that examination and details were published and sent out to the schools yesterday – individual primary and post-primary schools where approval had been given in respect of emergency works, health and safety works and temporary accommodation. These additional projects are typically small scale rather than large scale capital projects and relate mainly to temporary accommodation. The total number of schools involved is 122, 113 primary and nine post-primary schools, and the changes are highlighted and listed in sections 11 to 13 of the website.

There is also a programme involving a list of 20 schools for new pilot initiatives, where grants will be paid to the boards of management to provide maximum flexibility to respond to their accommodation needs. The schools selected were in need of accommodation as a matter of urgency and the pilot initiative is aimed at reducing the amount of temporary accommodation in schools.

It is not a question of congratulatory sentiments about the hundreds of schools on the programmes of the past few years. Substantial resources have been provided compared to the paltry sums paid a few years ago.

That was almost self-congratulatory from the Taoiseach although he tried to hold himself back. He must admit that the Government lied to the people before the last election by sending out letters promising improvements to local schools only for the new Minister to say, in essence, that those were daydreams from the previous Minister and that he cannot accept responsibility. Does the Taoiseach agree that this update will beg the question of how regularly we will receive updates of the school building programme? Will this updated programme be enacted within a certain timeframe or is it just another wish list which will never see the light of day? Are the Taoiseach's officials being listened to when they say that if they had an idea of the building projects required and if there was clarity of funding over the next four to five years, then they could get much better value for money? The funds we allocate to primary and secondary education are quite paltry in comparison with other countries.

I agree with multi-annual programmes and they are being examined in regard to education; annual programmes involve too many stops and starts. We have a capital programme in education worth several hundred million euro – in comparison with the €13 million being spent a few years ago – which will allow us to do so. I reject Deputy Sargent's comments on last year's programme. The budget provision for primary school capital programmes was €153.6 million, five times greater than it was a few years ago. The then Minister, Deputy Woods, secured an additional €19 million from Department savings and from other Departments for the primary schools budget. That gave a revised total of €173 million, an unprecedented level of investment. All that money was spent although a few schools were not in a position to take up the resources so the funds went to other schools.

So it was their fault.

No, there were planning issues in some cases. The money was moved to other schools, which were upgraded, and all the resources were spent. The then Minister achieved a record level of expenditure of €173 million.