Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Helen McEntee, who is unavailable. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. It gives me an opportunity to discuss the current position with Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola. The Deputy will be aware that the school is a DEIS post-primary school in Falcarragh, County Donegal, and the school had an enrolment in September 2024 of 417 pupils. The school is located in the Falcarragh school planning area and is the only secondary school in the area.

The Department of Education and Youth is in receipt of three applications under the additional school accommodation scheme and three for the emergency works scheme from Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola. All applications from schools for major capital works are considered against a range of factors. The priority for the Department of Education and Youth continues to be the provision of required additional school places to meet demographic requirements as well as to provide for children with special educational needs. In County Donegal alone, in the period 2020 to 2024, the Department invested €209.6 million on projects in construction, projects in the pipeline and completions. There were 64 projects completed in Donegal in the period 2020 to 2024. There are currently 17 projects in construction.

The Department of Education and Youth is required to manage the allocated capital funding across all schools in the country, and the Department's approach is to maximise the use of existing capacity in schools and, in tandem with this, to manage the progression of the existing pipeline of projects within available budgets and in line with the Government's infrastructure guidelines. This allows the Department to keep a strong focus on the provision of additional capacity to cater for demographics, new housing developments and the roll-out of additional special classes for children with additional needs. This approach reflects the Department's fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child.

The pace of delivery of additional residential development in school planning areas, along with updated enrolment data and demographic data, will be kept under review and will inform the timing of school requirements. The Department of Education and Youth will continue to liaise with local authorities in respect of the projected completion of planned residential developments. The Department of Education and Youth is examining demographic requirements across the country, including in the context of current and planned residential development activity, and any major capital works for Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola will be considered in this context.

The purpose of the Department of Education and Youth's additional school accommodation scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special educational needs is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year where the need cannot be met by the schools, existing accommodation or other schools in the area.

To answer one of the Deputy's specific questions around the current position in relation to the emergency works applications for Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola, there are three emergency works applications at assessment stage - mechanical and electric works, roof works and life safety systems. Those applications from the school in question are being considered by Department of Education and Youth officials and the school authority will be notified of that decision directly. I can confirm that the Department is in receipt of those three applications under the additional school accommodation scheme for capital works for the school. The school submitted an application for additional school accommodation in 2022 seeking a new-build and a purpose-built classroom for students with special educational needs. Two further applications were submitted in 2024 for special educational needs accommodation and prefab replacement. Modular accommodation for a classroom for students with special educational needs was approved in 2022 and has been delivered. I will raise the issue with the Minister for education as well.

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