Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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110. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the capital projects that have been undertaken by her Department in Westmeath since June 2020; the funding allocated each year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10547/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has a strong track record of delivery of school building projects and this was achieved again in 2022 notwithstanding the wider construction sector environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues.

Under Project Ireland 2040, we are investing €4.4 billion over the period 2021 to 2025, to add capacity and develop and upgrade school facilities across the country for the almost one million students and over 100,000 staff that learn and work in our schools every day.

The key drivers of capital investment in the schools sector are as follows:

- demographic change, including keeping pace with delivery of SEN and accommodation for Ukrainian pupils particularly at Post Primary

- alignment with housing provision and national planning at school planning area level,

- construction costs,

- climate action objectives including deep energy retrofit. 

Key achievements by my Department in 2022 include:

- 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.

- Accelerated delivery of modular accommodation to facilitate additional capacity in special classes and special schools to cater for over 900 children with additional needs.

- Successfully supported and facilitated the enrolment of over 13,500 children from Ukraine in our primary and post-primary schools.

- Necessary refurbishment and maintenance in nearly 1,000 schools.

- 16 Deep Energy Retrofit Pathfinder projects ongoing in partnership with SEAI.  

- Strategic initiatives put in place to support planning for school provision requirements include the Department’s Geographic Information System, National Inventory ofSchool Capacity, engagement with key stakeholders and also setting up of 16 Regional Education and Language Teams (REALTs) to facilitate enrolment of children from Ukraine in a structured and coordinated manner.

- Strategic initiatives put in place to support delivery include use of project manager supports, procurement frameworks, variety of delivery mechanisms and a strong pipeline of projects.  

I am very appreciative of the strong support provided by Government for our education budget.  As part of the supplementary budget, €300m additional capital funding was provided in 2022. This helped to alleviate capital funding pressures that arose in 2022 which was reflective of the strong delivery by the Department of school building projects – particularly to support mainstream provision and special education needs provision.  My Department’s overall capital outturn for 2022 was €1.12 billion.

Circa 80% of the School Building Programme allocation is expenditure in relation to Large Scale projects, Additional Accommodation Scheme, Modular Accommodation and Site acquisition to ensure the provision of additional and modernised capacity across the school system.

My Department's Planning and Building Unit is currently assessing its work programme and priorities for 2023 in the context of its available funding.  My Department's published NDP allocation for 2023 is €860 million.  High construction inflation remains a continuing feature of the construction sector for 2023.  As part of its planning ahead for 2023, my Department is engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in relation to capital funding pressures in order to continue to be able to adequately support the operation of the school system with rollout of school building projects to construction in 2023. 

Key priorities for my Department's work programme include continuing strong delivery to support the operation of the school system with particular regard to planning ahead for the 2023/24 school year and beyond and also with particular regard to supporting special needs provision. 

The current status of all projects are listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie and is updated on a regular basis to reflect their progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction. 

Please see table below detailing capital spend undertaken by the Department in Westmeath since June 2020.