Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The notes say 589 but we will take it that 620 students were enrolled in the school for the 2022-23 school year. The Department’s planning and building unit recently received an application from St. Aidan’s Comprehensive School seeking funding for a new PE hall and social space for students. This is in addition to funding that was approved under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme in 2020 for the provision of an engineering room, an engineering preparation room, a construction preparation and store area and a home economics room. This project has been devolved to the school authority for delivery and is currently at stage 2B, which is the detailed design stage. Investment and expenditure on PE halls in post-primary schools is an element of the overall school building programme. The provision of general purpose rooms and PE halls at primary and post-primary level respectively, as well as social spaces and dining spaces in post-primary schools, forms part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings. This is also the case where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school. Almost 95% of the post primary schools that made 2020 annual schools returns have indicated to the Department that they either have a PE hall, access to a nearby PE hall or a project in train that will deliver a new PE hall which can be used as a sports facility.

Senator Joe O'Reilly will appreciate that the immediate priority of the Department is providing new and replacement school places each year to ensure that every child has a school place. In that context, the main focus of the Department's resources over the past decade and for the coming period is on the provision of additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics, particularly at post-primary level, and on provision for children with special educational needs. The Department will continue to work to ensure that capital investment in our schools is targeted in the most efficient and effective way to support schools in meeting the educational needs of their students and communities.

Under Project Ireland 2040, the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion in capital investment over the period from 2021 to 2025. There will be a rolling five-year funding envelope, which will be updated annually, for the period from 2026 to 2030 within the Government's overall national development plan funding envelope of €136 billion in Exchequer capital and €165 billion in total capital including non-Exchequer funds that will facilitate building a modern and sustainable school infrastructure. This significant investment allows us to move forward with certainty on our ambitious plans and deliver high-quality building projects with a real focus on sustainability for school communities across Ireland. The strengthened focus on the refurbishment of existing school stock will have different strands and will include a PE build and modernisation programme that will enable students in post-primary schools to have access to appropriate facilities to support PE provision, particularly in the context of the roll-out of PE as a leaving certificate subject. Enhanced and modernised PE facilities will also provide important amenities for local communities. The application by St. Aidan’s Comprehensive School for a PE hall will be considered as part of this future PE build and modernisation programme.