Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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140. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the capital projects that have been undertaken by his Department in Westmeath since June 2020; the funding allocated each year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10549/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department is supporting a number of capital projects in Westmeath across both the Further and Higher sectors. 

At higher level, this supports includes a new STEM Building for the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS) – Athlone Campus which will consist of science labs, administration space and ancillary space.  The project forms part of Bundle 1 of the Higher Education Public Private Partnership Programme. The contract was signed on 21^stDecember 2022 and commenced on site in January 2023 with an expected completion date for the project in March 2025.

The TUS - Athlone Campus was also approved funding for the East Campus carpark.  In lieu of the displacement of the existing car park on the site of the PPP STEM Building development, the existing informal East Campus carpark was developed and completed at a cost of €800,000 to my Department.

In addition to this, the Quadrangle Building project involves an extensive refurbishment, upgrade, and an extension of the existing Auburn 2 Building which accommodates the Applied Polymer Technology (APT) Centre. The proposed works on the Auburn 2 building will upgrade the BER Rating of the building from its current D2 rating to an A3 rating.  The project is expected to reach substantial completion in March 2023. The project’s estimated cost is €4,000,000 of which €1,226,664.40 has been paid to date.

Further Education and Training (FET) capital projects for Westmeath are delivered by Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB).  Individual capital projects have been delivered in Athlone Training Centre in the period referred to by the Deputy.  Details are available in the table provided with this response.

In addition to individual FET capital projects my Department provides a Devolved Capital Grant to support the ETB network in addressing their most urgent infrastructural requirements, including maintenance and refurbishment of facilities; replacement and upgrade of equipment, including ICT equipment; and small-scale building works in the context of the delivery of strategic goals.  The Devolved Grant for LWETB is at their discretion to allocate across their remit.

Furthermore, my Department allocated funding to ETBs with a key focus on reducing waiting lists in critical craft apprenticeship areas.  The Apprenticeship Fund may be used primarily for craft apprenticeship, equipment and fit-out costs, in ETB training centres (Phase 2) and in TUs/IoTs (Phase 4 and 6).  The allocation is based on a joint submission from SOLAS/Higher Education Authority (HEA) for Further Education and Training and Higher Education needs respectively. SOLAS and the HEA determine how the funding is allocated across apprenticeship programmes and providers.

Details of capital projects undertaken in Westmeath, and funding envelopes approved, for the years requested by the Deputy are outlined at the following links.

">Higher Education Funding

">FET Funding