Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

One of the positive things we have seen under this Government has been investment in education. As the Minister of State outlined in response to the previous matter, we have seen new special schools. In my own area, there have been investments in new schools such as St. Aidan's secondary school and the Dominican secondary school. However, with education there is always a list of asks, and that is certainly the case in the Dublin 9 and Dublin 11 area. A number of schools have approached me about the current school building programme. I will outline some of those cases. There might be an opportunity for the Department to come back to me on the specifics.

The Holy Spirit Girls National School in Ballymun was one of the schools that opted early for the addition of an ASD class. We wanted more schools to do that. As we know, many schools in DEIS areas have numerous other challenges and are worried - "reluctant" might be the wrong word - about taking on an additional challenge when they already have so much on their plate. Holy Spirit Girls National School is not one of them. In 2021, the SENO and the school started to work together.

Additional accommodation is going in on that site and, as part of that project, a new canopy and play equipment were included. Unfortunately, out of the blue last November, these two elements of the project were removed. Cost was cited as the issue.

One might think that a canopy and play equipment are superfluous or nice-to-haves but they are a really important part of the overall plan in terms of managing the space and the flow of children between the new facility and the main school maximising the space that is available and giving children in the ASD class and children across the whole school use of the yard. The school is particularly disappointed. It welcomed when it was put on the framework because it felt that might speed it up but here we are at the very last minute and it is not complete.

One of the other two schools I referenced are Clonturk College where parents have campaigned for a long time. It is an Educate Together second-level school. Temporary buildings have gone in but we want to see a permanent school. The ETB and Educate Together are both involved and there are plans for another second-level school, so there will be two 1,000-pupil schools. This shows the need in the Santry area given the recent increase in population.

The third school is Gaelscoil Uí Earcáin, which is another school that adopted an ASD class. It is a really old school building. It is the school I went to when it was De La Salle Primary School. It has since been taken over by An Foras Pátrúnachta. Again, after a lot of campaigning, an entirely new school building will be given to that school but while we are doing that, it makes sense to put in place the supports we know are needed. Examples include a preparation room where hot school meals can be completed and a nurture room. Many of the trauma-informed reports talk about how nurture rooms play a really important role. Another example is space for home-school liaison and school completion staff within the building. When we are doing these large projects, we need to find a way to future-proof what is required. I appreciate I have thrown a lot at the Minister of State in regard to three issues. I would ask her to look at those details and come back to me.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The school building programme is not under my remit. It is under the remit of the Minister but I am happy to take this Topical Issue today. If I had known about the three schools, I might have had information relating to them. However, it is important to say that since 2020, the Department has invested in the region of €4.3 billion in our schools throughout the country involving the completion of over 800 school building projects, of which 16 are in the Dublin 9 and Dublin 11 area. Construction is currently under way at approximately 300 other projects, of which five are in Dublin 9 and Dublin 11 area. Of these 300 projects, 33 are new school buildings. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.2 billion. There are also close to 90 projects currently at the tender stage. These projects include a further 28 new school buildings. All of these new school buildings are flagship projects in their area and transform the education infrastructure for those school communities.

This is a record level of investment in our schools and highlights the Government's very strong track record of delivery in providing additional capacity and modern facilities for our school communities. It is underpinned by a robust school planning approach that uses a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including child benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity, is utilised for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department's projections of school place requirements.

On the basis of previous assessment of demographic trends and accommodation requirements, significant additional school capacity is already been delivered in the areas mentioned by the Deputy, including a new school building for Grace Park Educate Together National School. Further significant capacity is planned or in train, most notably the planned development of City of Dublin ETB's Whitehall campus, which will provide a new 1,000-pupil building for Clonturk College. The Deputy mentioned about wanting a permanent school building for that school. There are developments regarding Ellenfield Community College and a new eight-classroom primary school for Gaelscoil Áine. There will be a new 350-pupil school building for Rosmini Community School that is at construction and a new 500-pupil school building for Scoil Chaitríona is at stage 1 - preliminary design. The Deputy mentioned Gaelscoil Uí Earcáin. There is a project there to extend that to 16 classrooms that is also at stage 1. There is also a project to provide a new 20-classroom special school for Scoil Chiaráin, which is at stage 2b - detailed design.

Obviously, the Department will continue to keep the short-, medium- and long-term requirements for school places in Dublin 9 and 11 under ongoing review, including through the local authority in respect of its review of development and local area plans. I note that the Deputy is a past pupil of De La Salle Primary School, which is now Gaelscoil Uí Earcáin, which has an ASD class. He spoke about looking for a preparation room and a nurture room. He also mentioned Holy Spirit Girls National School in Ballymun, which also has an ASD unit. I commend both of those schools on that. The Deputy is looking for a canopy and play equipment and use of the yard, so they are things I can bring to the attention of the Minister and the planning and building unit to see if they can do something for the Deputy.

Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I would very much appreciate that. I know the planning and building unit is a bit of a black box. I think all TDs would love to have more access to the decisions that are made there. If the Minister of State could pass on those concerns, I hope we could get a positive response.

It is really important the Minister of State acknowledges what has happened in our area in recent years, namely, the agreement of schools to open additional ASD classes. Thankfully, the Minister of State has not had to use the new special powers the Government has put in place but I want to acknowledge that in DEIS areas, schools have significant levels of complex needs and I would challenge other areas that perhaps have less on their plate and more advantages to follow the lead.

After we have tried to persuade principals to open an ASD class and they have come on board, they have told me that there is more we need to do in terms of therapies, treatments and supports. The HSE needs to work harder with the Department in terms of supporting those schools that open ASD classes. Some of these facilities are fantastic. The Minister and I visited Coláiste Eoin, which is a second-level school, and it was fantastic as are many others such as Virgin Mary Girls' National School in Ballymun, where we opened that room, but we need the HSE to support them.

All of this activity is at primary school level and all of those children are going to need a second-level place or some second-level support. Some of that might be special schools but, hopefully, some of it will be ASD classes in second-level schools. The current model of limiting the number of ASD classes in a school may not work as well at second level because the number of ASD classes we have opened at primary level will not physically fit into the number of schools we have. I know the Minister of State is working on this matter but my area is already starting to see the creaking demand for second-level places when we have just about started to address primary level.

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Those are important points. As I said, the planning and building unit is under the remit of the Minister but I will bring it to its attention. I am glad I did not have to use the section 37a mechanism and that, in the main, schools have been very welcoming in terms of opening ASD classes and embracing that difference for children with additional needs on which I commend them.

Therapies and supports are a matter for the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, but I will speak to her about that.

There are 41,500 staff wholly and exclusively dedicated to special education, whether they are special needs assistants, SNAs, or special education teachers. There should be supports in place for schools. They can obviously get an exceptional review if they feel they do not have those supports and the Deputy can bring to my attention any schools that feel they are not supported because they need to be. The key drivers of capital investment in the school sector include demographic growth, particularly at post-primary level, which the Deputy mentioned. That is where forward planning and the geographical information system come into play. The increased demand for special education provision is always being looked at and monitored on a daily basis, as is the alignment of school place provision with housing developments. Climate action objectives, including deep energy retrofits, are also taken into consideration. All of those factors are extremely important.