Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

It is recommended that they exercise for two hours per week and this differs from school to school. Like relationships and sexuality education, time spent on PE tends to lessen as classes approach exams.

The Department's policy is to provide PE halls to schools that do not have such a facility and they are already part of the design for new schools, major renovations and extensions. However, the provision of schools in areas that have no school is the number one priority and this will continue to be the case. Large schools such as Castleknock community college and Loreto secondary school, Bray, which had been waiting got the go-ahead to build PE halls.

Under the summer works scheme schools have been able to upgrade outdoor and indoor facilities. Bearing in mind that more than half the schools in the country have four teachers or fewer, with less than 80 pupils, a sports hall would not be provided, but there would be space in the school. Many schools may use nearby community halls, sports pitches and so forth. The recommended course is flexible to allow schools to use nearby facilities. While we want to encourage young people to be active and use school facilities, our priority is the provision of classrooms.

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