Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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Stunned, shocked, appalled, frustrated and let down; this is how parents and teachers in my constituency are feeling after projects relating to their local schools were put on pause because of a row between the Department and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. Building costs have increased dramatically and the Department’s budget needs to be increased as a result. I completely get that point, and I agree with the Minister on it. Prices did not increase overnight, however, and these discussions really needed to have taken place prior the budget. Having them now and putting much-needed, long-promised school building projects - 58 across the country - on hold is not just unprofessional, it is utterly unfair to the students, staff and parents involved. The students, staff and parents I have been speaking to in the past couple of weeks feel like the projects relating to their schools have been put on the long finger. They feel that they have been abandoned by the Department of Education, and I do not blame them.

I was a student in Holy Family Community School when the talk of a new building first started. Like so many other schools, it has endured multiple setbacks and a number of false starts. Now, when it is ready to break ground on its new building, the project has been paused. Right across my constituency, school building projects have been promised but not delivered. Holy Family Community School is one, but there are many others. Significant extensions or new buildings were promised in respect of Lucan Community College, Scoil Chrónáin, St, Thomas Primary School, Scoil Naomh Áine, Divine Mercy Junior National School, Gaelscoil Chluain Dolcáin and Gaelscoil na Camóige. All of the schools in question are still waiting for those projects to commence. We also have newly established schools with no permanent homes. I refer here to Rathcoole Educate Together, Griffeen Community College, Gaelcsoil Lir and Coláiste Pobail Fóla in City West. These schools were all set up on the promise that they would get brand-new shiny school buildings but they are all still waiting for these. That is not to mention all of the schools still waiting for prefabs, such St. Ronan's National School, Moyle Park College and many others.

I am sure that the Minister can hear the frustration in my voice. It reflects the frustration I am hearing on a daily basis. I represent a rapidly growing area. My constituency contains two strategic development zones and has a shortage of school places.

At a meeting with principals from eight schools in Clondalkin in recent days, I was told to expect a September like no other as a result of the fact that not all post-primary schoolchildren will be given second level school places. We must think about that for a second. There are principals in my constituency who are preparing to tell parents that their children will be denied their right to education. This is at a time when schools have been promised buildings to help accommodate those same children. Unfortunately, the projects relating to those buildings have been put on pause. Where is the joined-up thinking? In what world do we think that putting these projects on pause will do anything other than deepen the crisis relating to schools? All that is happening is that the problem is shifting from one side of the Department to the other. Meanwhile, it is children, parents and staff who are caught in the crossfire. That is just not good for the constituents to whom I refer. When will this matter be resolved for the 58 schools across the country? When will the projects relating to those schools get the green light to proceed to construction?

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter . It gives me the opportunity to provide an update on the current position regarding a number of school building projects that are on hold from proceeding to either tender or construction due to capital funding pressures.

The Department's capital allocation has always been under significant pressure. The Department has a strong track record of fully utilising that allocation. In many years, it has required supplementary capital funding in order to deliver urgently required school building projects. The pressures on the capital allocation have been compounded since the national development plan, NDP, allocations were determined in 2021 by the impact of high construction inflation, the increasing prevalence of autism and other complex special education needs, which require the accelerated delivery of special educational needs provision at pace, and the urgent need to provide capacity for students from Ukraine and other countries under the international protection system. It is remarkable to note that more than 15,000 students from Ukraine alone have been accommodated in our school system within existing capacity. That obviously will have an impact.

The national priority, in the context of the NDP, to increase the roll-out of housing is also adding to pressures on the Department's capital allocation in light of the knock-on impact for additional school provision requirements. The Department's published NDP allocation for 2023 is €860 million. As part of its planning ahead, the Department is in the advanced stages of engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on capital funding pressures in order to continue to be able to adequately support the operation of the school system with the roll-out of school building projects to tender and construction in 2023, including the projects referred to in media reports. For the information of the Deputy, engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has been ongoing for a considerable time in respect of additional funding.

There were over 180 school building projects delivered during 2022. These projects included accelerated delivery of modular accommodation to support provision for 900 pupils with special education needs. Approximately, 300 school building projects continued in construction at the start of 2023; the majority of which will be completed this year or early in 2024. The latter includes more than 40 new school building projects. This is a considerable undertaking. All of these projects are helping to support the operation of our schools, are delivered to the highest standards and are very energy efficient.

This strong level of delivery is a key driver of capital pressures in the Department. Over 70% of the NDP allocation for 2023 is needed to cover expenditure on contractual commitments on approximately 300 existing projects at construction carried forward from 2022.

Strategic initiatives put in place to support planning for school provision requirements include the setting up of 16 regional education and language teams to facilitate enrolment of over 15,000 children from Ukraine, which has also been undertaken by the school building unit. Necessary smaller scale refurbishment and maintenance in approximately 1,000 schools has also been undertaken. Some 16 deep energy retrofit pathfinder projects are ongoing in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Strategic initiatives put in place to support delivery include the use of project manager supports, procurement frameworks, a variety of delivery mechanisms and a strong pipeline of projects.

It is also important to note that the Department, with the superb co-operation of schools on the ground, as I have already outlined, has accommodated students not only from Ukraine but also from other parts of the world.

These pressures have resulted in the need for my Department's planning and building unit to assess its work programme and priorities for the remainder of 2023 in the context of its available funding. The Department is at the advanced stages of engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on capital funding pressures in order to continue to adequately support the operation of the school system with roll-out of school building projects to construction, including those in Dublin Mid-West, in 2023. Progress has been made and the Department is anxious to bring this to resolution very quickly.

Key priorities in my Department's work programme include continuing strong delivery to support the operation of the school system, with particular regard to planning ahead for the 2023-24 school year and beyond and to supporting special needs provision.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for her four-minute reply to my simple question asking when this matter will be resolved. The answer appears to be that it will be very soon. This does not provide much clarity for the schools involved. The reality is that no matter when it is resolved, this is going to continue to be disruptive. It is particularly disruptive in the context of shovel-ready projects. What do I mean by that? If one looks at Holy Family Community School, for example, the tender has been awarded, an architect has been appointed and the contract is ready to go. The Minister may tell me that it will be a couple of weeks or a couple of months before the project proceeds. No matter what she says, however, there will be disruption for the school. This is because any delay in respect of a shovel-ready project can have serious consequences. It is very different if a project is at stage 2 and planning permission has just been granted and the board of management has been told that it will only be a couple of weeks until funding is allocated. That can be absorbed in the context of the entire process. If a project reaches the point where the time has come to break ground, however, there is a genuine risk that the school may lose its contractor because it can provide no clarity other than saying that matters will proceed very soon. At that point, the project will move backwards in the process and a new tender will have to issue. The project will probably then become more expensive for the Department. It could be a few days or a few weeks. We do not know how long the delay will be - it could be days or weeks - but it could potentially set a project back by a year, particularly if there is a need to re-tender. The final bill could be higher as a result.

That is utterly counterproductive and counterintuitive. Shovel-ready projects have waited way too long to get to this point, and including them in this pause could have a detrimental impact on their timelines and on the Minister's budgets.

We have to be practical. We have to rethink this and allow shovel-ready projects to move ahead while these departmental negotiations continue. Not doing that would not do justice to schools, staff, children and their parents, and I know that is what Deputy Foley wants to achieve as Minister for Education. That is her ambition and it is the shared ambition of us all, but we need to progress these school buildings to make it happen.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I am very cognisant of the frustration that exists. Any project being paused is one too many, but we have considerable issues regarding the availability of capital. The Deputy referred very genuinely to the fact she was a student herself in one of the schools when the new building was first mooted, but I cannot stand over what has happened in the intervening period between when she was a student and is now a Deputy. I do not know what happened in those intervening years. I can comment only on what has happened on my watch in the past two and a half years or so.

More than 180 school building projects were delivered in 2022, which included the accelerated delivery of modular accommodation to support the provision of 900 pupils with special educational needs. Approximately 300 school building projects continued into construction at the start of 2023, the majority of which will be completed in 2023 or early 2024, and this includes more than 40 new school buildings. Currently, there is an issue with additional capital being required, largely for the reasons I outlined. We are in a very different circumstance now compared with when the NDP allocation was first made. Various issues have arisen, such as the increased cost of living, events in Ukraine, the additionality of students and so on, but we have continued with the building programme throughout Covid. We are in ongoing engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, and I acknowledge the positive engagement from the Minister at that Department. It is my hope and expectation those engagements and discussions we are having with that Department regarding the availability of funding will come to a conclusion quickly. I am very conscious of the importance of driving on these projects, and we in the Department are fully committed to doing so. Again, I welcome the very positive engagement from the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, and we await the outcome of those engagements.