Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I raise the issue of funding for school facilities, particularly sports facilities such as playing facilities, AstroTurf pitches, renewal of grass surfaces and changing room facilities for voluntary schools. There are some great programmes in the summer works scheme and other newer schemes to do with climate action and preparing buildings for climate change, which are welcome. There is a gaping hole in the funding profile for schools when it comes to outdoor facilities. A key requirement for our schools is to provide non-classroom environments for students to keep them engaged and give them other experiences outdoors. For girls, in particular, it is very difficult to keep them involved in sport as they get older. A key way to do this is through the school system. To do that, a school needs good playing facilities, particularly outdoors. There is no mechanism for that at the moment. Will the Government consider in the medium term putting a scheme together, similar to the summer works programme, in which schools can apply for funding for sports facilities and renewal of sports facilities?

I am not talking about capital in the sense of acquiring land, but there are many schools in the country that have had facilities for a long time that require renewal. Asking parents and schools to do fundraising without, at the very least, matching funding from the Government is really difficult.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I sincerely thank Deputy Ó Muirí for raising this topic, which he knows is extremely close to my heart. He has years of experience of involvement, in his local community of Clontarf and beyond, in this specific area and this is a great opportunity to delve into it a little bit.

Since 2020 the Department of education has invested more than €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the national development plan. This has involved the completion of more than 1,375 school building projects. Government support for that investment has delivered real benefits. A recent Government decision has approved €210 million in supplementary capital funding for the Department. This brings the total capital allocation for 2025 to €1.6 billion.

The provision of school places, including for children with special education needs, has been a priority for the Department over recent years and this will continue to be the case. Nevertheless, the Minister for Education and Youth fully recognises the importance of physical activity and recreational facilities for students of all ages. It is important to note the provision of outdoor play areas forms part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school. The current design guidance for new primary and post-primary schools includes hard-surfaced play areas for both recreation and physical education activities. The guidance also includes provision of landscaped areas on school sites providing a variety of external informal and social areas to suit the learning development and cultural needs of students during breaks and before and after school, and for a range of more formal curriculum needs.

In addition, the design guidance for accommodation for pupils with special educational needs includes provision of external play areas with soft surfacing and especially sensory gardens. The Deputy has raised this a number of times, including when he was on the city council. The increased level of sensory gardens in our national schools is something we should all be so proud of. They are having a huge impact. My son's school just opened a new one and it is making a world of difference to every pupil.

To the Deputy's specific point, repairs to existing play areas may be considered under the Department's emergency works scheme. The purpose of that scheme is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. The scheme is intended to remedy an emergency situation and usually provides an interim measure until a permanent solution can be delivered. In the case of outdoor play areas this usually only includes repairs to existing play areas, but each application is assessed on its own merits.

Additionally, as the Deputy has alluded to, the Minister recently announced details in respect of the climate action summer works scheme. The purpose of this scheme is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works that, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times to avoid disrupting the operation of the school. This scheme will operate on a multi-annual basis for a number of categories, including external environment projects, which could include the provision or upgrade of outdoor play areas. The new scheme opened for applications in early May 2025 and all applications must be received by 5.30 p.m. on 30 June.

Deputy Ó Muirí's recommendation has serious validity. I am more than happy to bring that back to the Department of education and thank the Deputy for bringing it to the floor of the House.

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I welcome his comments and appreciate the investment he has outlined in general terms into school facilities. On the challenge with emergency works, I will give Manor House School in Raheny as an example. It is a very popular girls' school. It has a large AstroTurf pitch beside the school which belongs to it. The surface is really poor. It is an enormous job. I doubt it will qualify for any emergency works scheme because the scale of it is too large, but there is a huge opportunity there for the community in terms of partnership and for the school itself in the long term if we can find ways to partner on that.

I also want to raise the situation that has come up very recently in relation to Belgrove Infant Girls' School in Clontarf. Due to its enrolment numbers it has had its funding allocation cut for one teacher, potentially causing serious difficulty in the school. Depending on how the management of that school distributes staff, which I appreciate is a management decision, we could end up with a situation where there are 35 pupils to one teacher in that school. The Minister of State will understand that would be a very challenging situation for the school and for the management. I am raising it in the hope the Minister of State will raise it with the Minister, so it is looked at.

Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I fully empathise, especially with the comparison with Manor House School. I happen to know the pitch quite well from previous exploits as a really bad coach. I appreciate a pitch of that size represents serious capital work that is obviously way beyond the schemes laid out that are open at the moment. However, we have seen examples where there have been what I would not call public-private partnerships but community partnerships involving the local authorities and local sports and schools at both primary and post-primary levels to provide new pitches. Obviously, the common-sense approach is to remediate existing facilities, especially when we are talking about all-weather surfaces like 3G and 4G. Those are expensive as they are a bit more than the hard play areas the Department is focused on at the moment, so that is an area where there is not a lack of funding or will but there is a need for a specific stream to cater to that.

The situation of Belgrove Infant Girls' School in Clontarf is one that is coming up in a number of schools around the country. This is the time of year when they come up. The Minister will look favourably where there is a situation the Department can work with management to facilitate. I have no hesitation in saying I will sit down with the Minister for Education and Youth and specifically raise the issue of Belgrove Infant Girls' School in Clontarf on the Deputy’s recommendation.

Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State.