Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Through Project Ireland 2040, we are investing €4.4 billion over the period 2021 to 2025 to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost 1 million students and more than 100,000 staff involved in the education sector.

The Department has a proven track record of delivery. During the period 2018 to 2022, just under 900 school buildings were completed. This includes nearly 100 building projects across County Cork and a total investment of more than €433 million in schools in the county. The key drivers of capital investment in the schools sector are demographic change, including keeping pace with delivery of necessary special educational needs accommodation and accommodation for Ukrainian pupils, particularly at post-primary level, alignment with housing provision, obviously, and climate action objectives.

The Department completed more than 180 projects last year, including 20 in County Cork, within a challenging construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues. This year alone, in excess of 300 school building projects are currently under construction, including 40 new school buildings and 260 projects at existing schools across the country. Some 25 school building projects are under construction in County Cork. There are a further 1,000 school building projects in the pipeline at various stages of planning and design and tender, of which 165 are projects in County Cork.

Where accelerated delivery of accommodation is required, the Department utilises its modular accommodation framework to provide critical mainstream school places and places for students with special educational needs. There are currently 33 projects in this area under way in County Cork.

In order to plan for school provision, the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas. A geographical information system is used to analyse data from a range of sources, including Central Statistics Office, CSO, census data and child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise.

Requirements for additional school places, including in County Cork, are kept under ongoing review. The Department will continue to work with patrons and school authorities to support the operation of the school system in Cork and across the country, adding necessary capacity to cater for special educational needs provision, mainstream classroom requirements and accommodation for students from Ukraine and other countries under the international protection system.

See this speech in context