403 Deputy Olwyn Enright asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Science the position regarding an application for large capital funding by a school (details supplied) in County Offaly; when this application will be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16811/10]

As the Deputy is aware, the school to which she refers has made an application to my Department for Major Capital funding. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a Band 1 rating. The priority attaching to individual projects is determined by published prioritisation criteria, which were formulated following consultation with the Education Partners. There are four band ratings under these criteria, each of which describes the extent of accommodation required and the urgency attaching to it. Band 1 is the highest priority rating and Band 4 is the lowest. Documents explaining the band rating system are also available on my Department's website.

The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project, from initial design stage through to construction phase will be considered in the context of my Department's multi-annual School Building and Modernisation Programme. However, in light of current competing demands on the capital budget of my Department, it is not possible to give an indicative timeframe for the progression of the project at this time. In the interim, the school have applied for grant aid for additional accommodation for September 2010 and have recently been requested to forward further information in respect of their application.

404 Deputy Olwyn Enright asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Science the position regarding an application by a school (details supplied) in County Offaly that has been waiting to proceed to tender and construction; when its application will be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16812/10]

I am pleased to inform the Deputy that the school to which she refers was recently authorised to proceed to tender.

405 Deputy Jimmy Devins asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Science the number of schools in County Sligo awaiting a new building, refurbishment or extension; the schools in County Sligo that are using prefabs or other buildings as temporary classroom facilities; the cost of same to each school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16851/10]

Information in respect of the current school building programme, along with all assessed applications for major capital works, including the Co. Sligo projects referred to by the Deputy, is now available on my Department's website at www.education.ie.

The priority attaching to individual projects is determined by published prioritisation criteria, which were formulated following consultation with the Education Partners. There are four band ratings under these criteria, each of which describes the extent of accommodation required and the urgency attaching to it. Band 1 is the highest priority rating and Band 4 is the lowest. Documents explaining the band rating system are also available on my Department's website. For ease of reference, a table listing 26 applications from Co. Sligo schools currently seeking major capital building projects follows.

In the context of addressing accommodation needs in the short term, the Department grant-aids the provision of temporary accommodation in respect of schools requiring accommodation to cater for additional staffing allocations while awaiting the provision of permanent accommodation. The following table, compiled from information sent to my Department by schools in Co. Sligo, shows a list of schools in the county using rented prefabs as temporary classroom facilities. The rental cost per annum to each school is included in the table.