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

I would be happy to see some of these schools with the Deputy. She touched on the importance of not forgetting that the more we invest in schools now, the less they will need later on. New summer works and a climate programme have been announced and will be rolled out. It is important to make sure we are investing in changes to the buildings themselves that will provide efficiencies but that will also make sure that the maintenance is kept up. I hope to be able to announce the minor works grant scheme as well. This will provide that small amount of funding that actually saves in the long run. The PV grants and other areas that I have mentioned are not about just investing in the infrastructure but they provide cost savings on energy bills as well.

To the Deputy's original point, the objective of the Department and my role and that of the Deputy is to make sure that students are supported to fulfil their potential. This means them having the resources they need, including teachers, SNAs, and special education teachers. Students have to be educated in a setting that is conducive to that and this is why I am committed to securing more money in the budget so that we can develop more projects. I take the Deputy's point on timely engagement with principals. This might be something I could speak directly to her about how it is working at the moment and how we can improve it.

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