There is a commitment in the programme for Government on education from naionraí and pre-school to third level and fourth level. The amalgamation project between Cahir Boys' national school and Our Lady of Mercy Convent girls' school has been stuck in the bowels of the Department of Education and Skills for decades. Planning permission has been granted and the design has been agreed. Could the Minister please try to resurrect the project and give it some semblance of progress to allow young children from Cahir and the surrounding area in the parish to have half-decent accommodation? They have excellent teachers, staff and boards of management and parents' councils but they are entitled to a fair standard of accommodation to be taught and learn in, not the Dickensian buildings that they have.

We have a substantial capital budget but the pressures on us from the capital side are huge. We have a series of programmes to meet the demographic demand every year, which absorbs approximately 80% of our money. We have programmes for additional accommodation, for emergency works, summer works and minor works. We try to allocate the money as fairly as possible to meet the needs. Every application by a school is given due consideration and has to be prioritised. I will seek information from the Department on exactly what proposition has been put forward by these schools and where it stands and I will communicate with the Deputy.