Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Boland for raising this question. I acknowledge that she has prioritised this with me and wants to ensure that every child, parent and teacher in her constituency has the resources, supports and indeed the appropriate school buildings he or she requires in the years ahead. I am absolutely committed to working with her and all of the schools in that regard.

My role in this Department, working with the building unit, is to make sure it has the resources it needs and that it then supports and works with principals and design teams to ensure projects can be progressed in a timely manner. We have a strong track record of delivery. Since 2020, more than €5.8 billion has been invested in our schools throughout the country, which has involved the completion of more than 1,300 school building projects in a record investment. In Dublin alone, €1.3 billion has been spent in that time.

In order to ensure a timely roll-out of these projects, a number of things have been done. We have increased the support and the staff in the buildings unit. There currently is a staff of 240 with ongoing recruitment in that regard. A comprehensive suite of design guidance has been put in place for the delivery of school building projects, including standardised designs and room layouts with a strong emphasis on streamlining arrangements to support delivery. There is a particular circular with regard to repurposing additional accommodation, which has been particularly helpful to help with the opening of new special classes. There is a strong emphasis on procurement frameworks for design teams. There are new building officers and projects managers specifically to support schools and to make sure there is a focus on delivery, particularly for the more complex projects. We are working as well to make sure we have IT solutions to help support the roll-out of solar PV panel programmes, which are also part and parcel of much of the work taking place.

I acknowledge that some of the programmes and projects do not move as quickly as we would like. There often are reasons for that. Sometimes we have to manage the budget we have with the projects that are coming through. I assure the Deputy that we will work with all schools to make sure that as many of them can be progressed at the same time in a timely manner. We are working and constantly engaging with schools in order that this can be communicated.

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