Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

376. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 206 of 8 February 2023, if he will provide an update on the current status of a school building project in Thurles, County Tipperary (details supplied); if the project will be expedited; when the necessary funding will be released; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14698/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to advise the Deputy that approval has issued recently, to the school authority in question, for the provision of 2 x SEN classrooms and 4 x mainstream classrooms

The project is being delivered under the Department’s Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme which provides the services of a Project Manager to assist the School Authority. This approach supports accelerated delivery of the accommodation and maximises assistance to the school for this brief, the project will be delivered from the Department’s Procurement Frameworks which offers schools the option to provide and deliver a turnkey project with efficiency in terms of timelines, experience, tried and tested service with professional Design Teams and Contractors.

Projects delivered under the scheme are devolved to school authorities under the terms and conditions of the scheme and it is a matter for schools to progress these projects on that basis subject to Departmental review at various points in the process. I wish to point out that under the SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation Programme that the number of stages have been minimised to ensure efficiency of delivery whilst maintaining the necessary governance structure. The Project Manager will visit the school site and in consultation with the School Authority will prepare a Viability Report to identify the best accommodation solution for the Department’s consideration and approval.

On approval, the Department will notify the School Authority directly that they may proceed to the next stage subject to their agreement of the ‘final project brief’. The Department will then issue funding for the project.