Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State with responsibility for community development and charities. I also thank him for taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister. We are requesting an update from the Department of Rural and Community Development on how we can support open access to school buildings after hours for communities and youth organisations through the CLÁR programme or other measures.

It is very important to note that we have a ready-made network of school buildings and we have infrastructure that is not being used after the school day finishes. How do we prioritise and ensure the CLÁR programme can be used to make sure that there is more access after school hours? The facilities include community spaces within the schools such as halls, playgrounds, Astroturf, basketball courts. There has been significant investment in recent years in school buildings across the country, and more is needed.

We need to consider how we can ensure maximum usage, particularly in our smaller towns and villages, where there is not a large amount of choice when it comes to community or public spaces. Our colleague, Deputy Stanton, is championing the use of school building and facilities outside of school hours. As Fine Gael's education spokesperson, I support increased accessibility to these facilities, especially after the period of lockdown. I would like to see how all age groups could use it, not just young people. We need to think about rolling out evening courses through our educational training boards, ETBs, for digital or literacy training.

I understand there can be insurance, staff or other financial concerns for principals and school boards of management. Under the CLÁR programme, in the context of the Minister of State's and the Minister's portfolios, how can we support schools to increase access? Will the Minister of State provide an update? Can this be made a prerequisite of the CLÁR programme?