I wish to make a point about the increasing tendency of Ministers not to be here for questions on promised legislation. It is a very useful slot but the absence of Ministers makes it a lot less effective. Many Ministers can be here for Leader's Questions but then seem to find that they are busy during questions on promised legislation. That is something that I would ask both the Ceann Comhairle and the Cabinet to examine.

My question relates to the announcement today regarding the summer works scheme, which comes only seven to eight weeks before the end of the school year. The scheme is very welcome and is much needed by schools across the country with the average grant amounting to just over €100,000. However, the Department is now asking school principals to arrange tenders and quotes for work to be carried out in July and August with only seven to eight weeks' notice, which is entirely unnecessary. I ask the Minister to commit to revising the process for next year. I also ask him to explain why his Department unnecessarily puts that administrative burden on school principals, boards of management and also on the contractors who will be bidding for the work.

The Deputy will appreciate that there is huge pressure on the education capital budget because we have to accommodate 15,000 new school places every year as well as providing 5,000 necessary replacements. That leaves resources constrained. It means that we must decide, relatively late on, what will be available for the summer works scheme. Clearly, we try to maximise the available money but half of the schools in the country make an application for this scheme. It is a very strongly supported scheme and we have to try to be discerning in those projects that are supported to ensure that the highest priority cases get the go ahead. That said, there will be adequate time to deal with the work involved. By waiting until this point in the year, we ensure that we get as much as possible made available to schools.