Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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164. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when she intends to commence a national programme to deliver sports halls to the many schools that have no such facilities, thus remaining severely disadvantaged in terms of delivering the many elements of the physical education curriculum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [20436/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Investment and expenditure on PE halls is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the 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 main focus of 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 special education needs provision.

The Deputy will appreciate that the immediate priority of my Department is providing new and replacement school places each year, to ensure that every child has a school place. 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.

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.