'DEPARTMENT MUST GET ITS ACT TOGETHER FOR DROMORE'
THE education department needs to get its act together if Dromore's long overdue new primary school is to be built in the forseeable future.
That's according to Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson, in response to recent news that 350m set aside for school buildings went unused by the department over the last five years.
Last week's audit report, in which a government watchdog revealed the department had received more than 1.2 billion in that period but spent only 857m, concluded the department had "consistently underspent its capital budget".
While acknowledging hold-ups, including planning issues, land purchase and legal challenges, the report further concluded that school building work should be "speeded up", this at a time when many long-planned new schools, Dromore's among them, are stalled for want of funding.
Approved six years ago, Dromore Central's planned replacement was confirmed by Stormont Education Minister Caitriona Ruane's recent capital programme review as being fully compliant with current education policy.
However, word that it had finally gained planning permission came with news that it was not among 14 school projects selected to get started with a 13m cash windfall from the Executive's June monitoring round.
Delayed by planning hurdles arising from drainage, and other, issues with the Mossvale Road site, the Dromore newbuild was not among the lucky few sufficiently progressed to be in a position to get underway quickly enough.
Alarmed by the underspend, Mr. Donaldson said this week he had raised the issue with the minister and was awaiting her response.
"Whilst the department has claimed that the Dromore school project is not yet at the stage where they can release capital funds," he said, "it is nevertheless alarming that the department has underspent by over 300m and yet they have not been able to release money for this vital project.
"This really does smack of a lack of planning and foresight by the department and, with limited funds available, they really do need to get their act together if we are to ensure that the children have a new school in Dromore to move to in the foreseeable future and that the unacceptable overcrowding is brought to an end."
Lagan Valley MLA Jonathan Craig was also critical of the department.
"The Minister, while not solely responsible, as this figure represents years prior to devolution," he said, "has continually argued that she has no money, yet now we find out, through this report, that the department hasn't spent its entire budget for school buildings.
"Questions need to be asked of department officials as to why this was overlooked? Why was this money not spent when many school buildings are in dire straits?"
Sinn Fein education spokesman John O'Dowd stressed that direct rule, rather than party colleague Ms. Ruane, was to blame for the underspend.
"In 2005/06, under direct rule ministers, the underspend was 43m," he said. “That figure has been reduced under the governorship of minister Caitriona Ruane in 09/10, to zero.”
The audit report also revealed, however, that during Ms Ruane's time as education minister funds were handed back rather than underspent - 86m in 2007/08, 29m in 2008/9 and 33m in 2009/10.
The Department of Education said it was giving careful consideration to the report findings, but, as such reports might be subject to Public Accounts Committee scrutiny, it would be inappropriate to make any comment in advance of any potential PAC hearing.
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Weather for Dromore
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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