Joe O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for raising this matter in regard to enabling access to school facilities for use by local community organisations and youth groups outside of school hours. Schools are very much valued in their communities in that they provide a vital link to sports and social activity but also to local heritage, and in rural areas they help sustain populations. Indeed rural schools make up the majority of our primary school sector. Nearly 2,000 out of just 3,200 of the State's primary schools are in rural areas. Schools are often the centre of community activity and there can be mutual benefits in building links with the local community. Indeed many schools recognise this and play an important role in the wider community and many schools make their facilities available outside of school hours for a variety of community and other activities.

As the Deputies may be aware, the policy of the Department of Education is that school premises and facilities should be used for community and recreational purposes, where possible. In October 2017, following consultation with the relevant school authorities, the Department published guidelines on the use of school buildings outside of school hours. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide information for schools in regard to the use of school buildings outside of school hours and for those schools that are considering putting such arrangements in place. Any decision to make school facilities available lies with the relevant trustees or property owners, having regard to the requirements of the school, staff and students.

My Department, through its policies and funding interventions, continues to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. In regard specifically to playgrounds, public green space and public parks, which are all key to community well-being, the following supports are available. My Department provides funding for the development and upgrading of playgrounds under LEADER, CLÁR, and the community enhancement programme. The community enhancement programme provides small capital grants to community groups to enhance facilities, including playgrounds in disadvantaged areas. From 2018 to mid-2021, €29.7 million has been provided in funding for the community enhancement programme, supporting more than 10,000 community groups and organisations. Funding is allocated by my Department to each local authority area. The local community development committee, LCDC, with support from its local authority, administers the funding. Some €4.5 million was available in 2021, with €145,203 allocated to Mayo and €156,299 allocated to Cork, for example.

From my own Department's perspective, funding has been provided under the CLÁR programme for a range of measures to be delivered by schools and communities, including for the enhancement or development of play areas and multi-use games areas, MUGAs. The conditions attached to the CLÁR programme require that such facilities should be available for wider community use. In the case of schools, I appreciate that the use of play areas and MUGAs by the general community may need to be restricted to times outside of normal school hours. Many schools in CLÁR areas are willing to make their playground facilities available for community use and have received support under the programme on this basis. The objective is that these facilities would be available to local families and visitors to the area.

Under measure 2 of CLÁR 2021, €2.3 million in funding was provided to support outdoor community recreation facilities, including playgrounds. Emerging from this call, my Department recently announced funding for 20 playgrounds, both new and upgrades to existing playgrounds. We expect to launch the next round of CLÁR funding shortly.

LEADER can also fund the renovation of community centres, playgrounds and other community amenities, which play a very important role in community development. My Department is also responsible for a number of national policies containing measures to improve the lives of people throughout the country, including Our Rural Future, which places an emphasis on building resilience and enhancing participation and inclusion in rural communities. The availability of suitable spaces for use by local communities is an important element of supporting inclusion and participation.

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