Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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358. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the minimum required sport facilities guidelines for secondary schools from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10876/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to confirm to the Deputy that investment and expenditure on PE Halls is an element of the overall School Building Programme. Almost 95% of the post primary schools that made 2020 Annual Schools Returns have indicated to the Department that they either have a PE Hall, access to a nearby PE Hall, or a project in train that will deliver a new PE Hall which can be used as a sports facility.

The provision of GP rooms and PE Halls, at primary and post primary level respectively, and outdoor hard play areas, form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings. This is also the case where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school. Practically all schools have outdoor play areas and many schools use adjacent local facilities, including community halls, public parks, playing fields and swimming pools.

The typical facilities provided are outlined in the Department's design guidelines for new schools. (Ref TGD-023 “Post-primary School Design Guidelines”), & (Ref TGD-022 “Primary School Design Guidelines”), published on www.gov.ie

Furthermore, as per any new school building, where the site area and building configuration permits, an area may be reserved suitable for use as a practice playing field.

The main focus of my Department’s resources over the last decade and for the coming period is on provision of additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics particularly at post-primary level, and for provision to meet the needs of children with special educational needs. My Department has successfully supported and facilitated the enrolment of over 14,000 children from Ukraine in our primary and post primary schools.

Under Project Ireland 2040 the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion capital investment over the period 2021-2025. There will be a rolling 5 year funding envelope which will be updated annually for the period 2026 to 2030 within the Government’s overall NDP funding envelope of €136 billion in exchequer capital (€165 billion total capital including non-Exchequer) that will facilitate building a modern and sustainable school infrastructure.

This significant investment allows us to move forward with certainty on our ambitious plans and deliver high quality building projects, with a real focus on sustainability, for school communities across Ireland. The strengthened focus on refurbishment of existing school stock will have different strands and will include a PE build and modernisation programme which will enable students in post-primary schools to have access to appropriate facilities to support PE provision, particularly also in the context of the roll-out of PE as a leaving-certificate subject. Enhanced and modernised PE facilities will also provide important amenities for local communities.

My Department will continue to work to ensure that capital investment in our schools is targeted in the most efficient and effective way to support schools in meeting the education needs of their students and local communities.

Details of large-scale projects being delivered under the school building programme may be viewed on my Department's website at, www.gov.ie and this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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359. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the minimum required toilet facility guidelines for a student for secondary schools from her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10877/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has an ongoing policy of updating and improving its suite of School Design Guides (SDGs) for schools with a view to offering better guidance to school authorities and Design Teams. The update of design guidance documents is based on evidence based research, collaboration, codes of practice and international best practice.

SDG-02-06, which is only one document of a suite of Design Guidance, describes the design parameters to be considered by the Design Team in the formulation of their design response in relation to Sanitary Facilities specifically. The document describes the methods for calculating the number of WCs within a school, the design parameters for each self-contained WC Space, where and how these are to be organised to maximise passive supervision, prevent discrimination and minimise the risk of bullying in our schools. It also details the robustness and privacy requirements of each private WC space. The design guidance is written to respond to the wide ranging requirements of a multitude of stakeholder voices, and intended to ensure that the school environment is designed to be flexible and responsive to each school’s individual requirements. Education environments are to be designed to promote equality, to be flexible, inclusive and adaptable to changing needs where these particular needs arise. These TDG documents relate to the provision of new school buildings and are available on my Department's website.

The extent of sanitary provision in existing schools may vary depending on the school layout.