309 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Education and Science if she will approve the application for major capital works from the management authority of a national school (details supplied) in County Kilkenny to ensure the project proceeds to the design stage in view of the fact the long-term staffing has been projected by her Department and taking into account the rapid growth in population in this area over the past number of years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43312/06]

The School Planning Section of the Department is in receipt of an application for major capital works from the management authority of the school to which the Deputy refers. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale projects and has been assigned a Band 2 rating.

Progress on the proposed works is being considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme from 2007 onwards.