Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, investment and expenditure on General Purpose (or GP) rooms is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the School Building Programme. The provision of General Purpose (GP) rooms at primary, as well as outdoor hard play areas, form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school.

The GP room is a teaching area that caters primarily for the teaching and learning of physical education. It may also be used for the teaching of other subjects across the curriculum, and may additionally be used for general school assembly or for other functions requiring a large assembly area. My Department provides different size GP rooms depending on the size of the school. A 195m2 GP room is provided as standard as part of new 8 to 16 classroom school buildings, with larger primary schools, with 24 or more mainstream classes, being provided with twice this size. My Department’s Primary School Design Guidelines, which are available at www.gov.ie/en/collection/ddc58-school-building-and-design/ set out the specific design requirements applicable to the design of primary schools, including GP rooms.

The current primary PE curriculum was introduced as part of the Primary School Curriculum (1999). In primary schools, PE is allocated one hour each week within curriculum time and this time will be increased to include Wellbeing as outlined in the Primary Curriculum Framework, launched in March 2023. The PE curriculum (1999) contributes to children’s overall development by helping them lead full, active and healthy lives. It provides a balanced range of activities for children through six strands: Athletics, Dance, Gymnastics, Games, Outdoor and adventure activities, and Aquatics.

No provision is made for primary schools to alter the curriculum taught in the school or to choose not to teach particular areas of the curriculum. Teachers are expected to adapt the curriculum to match the facilities available to them in the school and local area. The provision for PE focuses on the delivery of a broad and balanced PE curriculum, taking into consideration the context of the school and the facilities available to them.

The accommodation and facilities provided as part of new school building projects have been designed to meet the curricular and operational needs of schools, including the delivery of the Physical Education curriculum, taking account of the number of pupils enrolled in the school.

The GP rooms form part of a suite of ancillary facilities provided as part of new school buildings. At primary level, new school buildings additionally include a Library, Multi-purpose room, Special Education Tuition rooms, and offices. The accommodation provided for new primary schools to support children with special educational needs also includes a Central Activities Space, Multi-Activity Room, Daily Living Skills facility and Quiet Spaces.

In addition, my Department’s Design Guidelines for all new schools provides for outdoor multi use games areas (or hard play areas) and the level of play space provided varies with the size of school. For example, a new 24 classroom primary school with Special Education Needs classes is provided with 3 ball courts, 2 junior play areas, as well as a Secure hard and soft play area and a Sensory Garden.

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 continued 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.

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is included in my Department’s Construction Programme which is being delivered under the National Development Plan.

The brief for this project is to provide accommodation for a long term projected enrolment of 1000 students, including 4 classrooms for students with Special Educational Needs and all ancillary accommodation.

Stage 1 & Stage 2a of Architectural Planning have been completed and the project has now progressed to Stage 2b – Detailed Design, which includes the application for all statutory consents, including Planning Permission, Disability Access Certification and Fire Safety Certification and also the preparation of tender documentation.

The Design Team submitted the Planning Permission application to the Local Authority in October 2022.

The Local Authority requested Further Information in relation to the application, and the Design Team has recently submitted their responses to the Local Authority.

The Fire Safety Certificate application was lodged with the Fire Officer in October 2022, and following an extension of time request from the Local Authority, a decision is pending.

The Disability Access Certification was granted on 14/12/2022.

Once all statutory approvals have been secured, and upon receipt, review and approval of the Stage 2(b) submission, my Department will be in contact with the School Authorities, the Design Team and the Project Manager regarding the progression of the project.