Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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231. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide schedules by school planning areas of current and future capital investment projects that will provide for the projected future need and to enrolment pressures in the Naas, Clane, Leixlip, Maynooth and the Celbridge areas in County Kildare; and if she will provide the same information in respect of Lucan, County Dublin, the Dublin 15 area, Dunboyne and Laytown, County Meath and Bray and Greystones areas of north County Wicklow. [9428/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform my Department's projections of school place requirements.

My Department has a strong track record of delivery of school building projects and this was maintained in 2022 notwithstanding the wider construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues.

There were circa. 180 school building projects delivered during 2022 and a further 273 school building projects remained under construction at the start of 2023 - most of which will be completed this year. My Department has circa 300 projects currently at construction, and a further circa 1,000 projects in the pipeline, at various stages of planning and design.

The current status of approved projects and those projects already completed under the school building programme is listed on a county by county basis on my Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/collection/d73cb-building-works-for-the-construction-extension-and-refurbishment-of-schools/and is regularly updated.