Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy has pointed out, my Department provided a comprehensive update to the Joint Committee on Education and Skills, of which he is a member, on 30 September last and has committed to providing updates regularly on the status of the 42 new schools to be provided over the next four years from 2019 to 2022.

The current focus for my Department is to prioritise the 17 schools opening in 2019 so that patrons can be appointed and accommodation solutions can be put in place as soon as possible. My Department has appointed a project manager to assist this work, and potential interim accommodation solution options have been identified for the majority of the 17 schools.

My Department's design and build programme will be the main delivery mechanism for providing permanent accommodation for the 42 new schools. A procurement process is under way to facilitate the appointment of a project manager who will assist my Department in the provision of permanent accommodation for the new schools to be established from 2020 onwards.

A patronage process is ongoing in respect of the four post-primary schools due to open in 2019 and I expect to make an announcement shortly in this regard. A patronage process for the primary schools due to open in 2019 will commence shortly thereafter.

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