Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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513. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of all schools in Galway city and county in respect of which her Department pays a lease for the use of the school buildings in tabular form; the details of the organisations to which these leases are paid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14479/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Where the rental of buildings or land for school accommodation is deemed necessary by my Department, the contract for this is usually between the school authority and the relevant owner of the property in question. The Department then provides grant aid to the school in respect of the rental costs. 

While it is the policy of my Department to ensure a high standard of permanent accommodation for all schools, in the context of a rapidly increasing school population over the last decade or more it is sometimes necessary to make use of rental of properties as interim solutions to meet the accommodation needs of schools. Furthermore, it may also be necessary to make use of temporary rented accommodation when an immediate or short term need arises. For example, a school may require a temporary site or building in circumstances where a major school construction project is planned. The rental is terminated when the major project concerned is completed. The length of time it is necessary to make use of the rented property will vary from project to project.

There are approximately 1,200 school building projects within the current pipeline across the various stages of planning, design, tender and construction - most of which are expected to be either under construction or completed in the period 2022 to 2025.  The progression and completion of these projects is and will make further inroads on the replacement of rented sites and buildings with knock-on savings on the rental budget.

Many schools based in rented buildings and on rented sites are already part of the pipeline of projects under the school building programme and their longer-term accommodation will be addressed as part of these projects.  Maximising the opportunities to achieve value for money involves matching, as best as possible, the accommodation requirement with the appropriate accommodation solution. This is relevant for all accommodation projects progressed by the Department.

The changing landscape in relation to enrolments means that accommodation requirements can vary regionally and between short, medium and long-term and this is a relevant factor considered by the Department in determining the type of accommodation solution to be put in place.

Following is a list of schools in Galway city & county where the Department is funding the lease of buildings and/or land.