SF Seek School Building Funds For North

There's a proposal being placed on the agenda for the Stormont Assembly's Education Committee this week calling for it to support more money going into school building projects across the North.

Backing the Department of Education's bid to the Department of Finance, Sinn Féin MLA and member of the Education Committee, Michelle O'Neill, said: "Both the DUP and UUP voted against a motion and stopped a letter of support for extra funding from the Department of Finance going forward.

"The DUP and UUP members, including the Chair Mervyn Storey, had an opportunity to to offer practical support to schools awaiting a new build. They failed to do so.

"Mervyn Strorey is very good at grandstanding in the media and on the floor of the Assembly but when presented with practical responses to the needs of schools he has clearly failed to deliver," she fumed.

Last week, the Sinn Féin Education spokesperson John O' Dowd said that it is clear that without an injection of cash by the Stormont Executive there will be no new schools built in this financial year as a result of the constraints on the Education budget.

Mr O'Dowd was speaking after NI Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane, confirmed that her review of capital projects was complete.

He said: "Despite the best efforts by some of those in the Chamber and some outside the chamber to muddy the waters the facts are quite clear.

"Schools affected by the Capital Review will be informed directly of their status by the Minister and despite the protests of some MLAs schools should be informed before anyone else.

"The school build programme cannot go ahead without an injection of money as the Minister has already spent 99% of her allocated budget in building new schools. What part of those two pieces of information do certain MLAs not understand?

"In recent weeks senior departmental officials have reported to the Assembly Education Committee that the new build budget is under severe pressure. Those reports have been confirmed by budget updates.

"The antics of the Education committee chair will not result in one brick being laid in any school but if the Assembly and the Executive approach this issue in a mature professional way then I believe we can bring some relief to those schools awaiting new builds," he said.

(BMcC/GK)