IPPN

Statement by Larry Fleming, President of the Irish Primary Principals' Network, following the announcement by the Minister for Education and Science of a revised building programme.

"The building projects list announced by the Minister for Education and Science is good news for those schools who have been approved but does little to address the pressing and urgent need to rapidly expand the provision of primary education in many areas.

This year, for the first time ever, the number of children in our primary schools will exceed half-a-million with all indications that this will continue to increase for the foreseeable future. The demographic pattern has been known for some time now and is not a surprise to anyone.

The many schools all over the country who have had building proposals under consideration for some years; the many schools who have been operating out of prefabs and the many schools who know that their enrolment is increasing will gain little comfort from these announcements. In some cases, it seems as if the goal-posts have been moved yet again with no apparent rationale for some schools being included in these projects while others are left out."

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