Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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123. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of her long-term plans to ensure that canteen and physical infrastructure is provided to all schools nationally. [4823/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has in place detailed design guidelines for primary and post-primary schools. These guidelines, which are available on my Department's web-site, currently provide for a standard range of servery and eating facilities in the design of new and refurbished schools. In Primary schools, a servery of 8.0m² in area is provided. At Post Primary level a kitchenette, 25m² in area, is provided off the General Purpose/Dining Area. These facilities are not intended to be full commercial type kitchens where food is prepared or cooked.

During the NDP period 2018-2020, there were 526 completed building projects under the Large-Scale Capital Programme and the Additional Accommodation Scheme, including 180 completed in 2020. Many of these projects would have included PE hall or GP room provision, with the associated servery of 8.0m² in the case of primary schools and a kitchenette area of 25m² in the case of post primary schools, though the detail requested by the Deputy is not readily available.

There are currently 377 schools (338 projects) listed on the Large Scale Capital Programme which would be expected to provide new PE halls at post-primary level (where none exist already) or GP halls at primary level (where none exist already). The related servery and kitchenette areas would also be provided.

In relation to physical infrastructure, as the Deputy is aware, the main focus of resources over the last decade and for the coming period is on the provision of additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics. The second half of the NDP (from 2023 onwards) will see an increasing focus on the upgrade and refurbishment of the existing school stock. This will include a PE Hall/GP Room build and modernisation programme to ensure that students in all schools have appropriate facilities to support PE provision.

Details of large-scale projects being delivered under the school building programme may be viewed on my Department's website at, www.gov.ieand this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.