Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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945. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will issue an update on the application by a school (details supplied) for additional accommodation. [20950/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The school to which the Deputy refers has been approved funding in 2021 for a building project under my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme that will provide additional specialist rooms.

The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.

I wish to confirm that my Department recently received a further application from the school authority in question under the ASA scheme.  Officials in my Department are engaging with the school authority regarding this second application  When the assessment process has been finalised, the school authorities will be notified directly.

Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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946. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application by a school (details supplied) for additional accommodation. [20953/22]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I can confirm that my Department is in receipt of an Additional School Accommodation (ASA) application form from the school referred to by the Deputy. 

The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.

At primary level, this situation generally arises to cater for a school’s accommodation requirements where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section, or the requirement for a new class for pupils with special education needs has been identified by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes.

Officials from my Department have engaged with the school authority regarding required information. Once this has been received and the assessment completed, a decision will be conveyed directly to the school authority.