Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is an important matter because physical education, PE, is now being introduced as an examination subject in the leaving certificate curriculum. It has been trialled in a number of schools and it is a matter on which I am very focused. We also need to focus on PE very strategically in primary schools. The Deputy is correct in what she says about PE facilities in secondary schools. I am getting correspondence from various parts of the country about schools that need gymnasiums and PE halls to implement this part of the curriculum. As part of that we have €8.4 billion available over the ten-year period of the national development plan. A programme will be rolled out to include gymnasiums in that. Obviously that will not happen overnight.

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