Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Many schools have a GP room or sports hall and practically all schools have outdoor play areas. In addition, many schools use adjacent local facilities, including community halls, public parks, playing fields and swimming pools.

Investment and expenditure on GP rooms and PE halls is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the school building programme. The provision of GP rooms, PE halls and outdoor hard play areas, such as basketball courts, form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school.

The main focus of resources over the past decade and for the coming period is on the provision of additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics, particularly at post-primary level, and for special needs provision. Under the national development plan, NDP, increased funding has been provided for the school sector capital investment programme. This funding allows for a continued focus on the provision of new permanent school places to keep pace with demographic demand and also provides for an additional focus on the refurbishment of existing school buildings to include the building and modernisation of PE facilities in post-primary schools. At present, this investment is targeted to the latter half of the NDP programme.

Details of large-scale projects being delivered under the school building programme, including in respect of Mayo, may be viewed on the Department's website, education.ie, and this information is updated on a regular basis. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.

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