Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent)
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95. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 552 of 18 April 2023, if she will confirm whether the assessment process for a school's (details supplied) additional accommodation scheme application is now complete; when a decision will be communicated to the school authority; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25077/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that there is an application for additional accommodation under my Department's Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme on hand from the school authority in question.

The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.

At primary level, this situation generally arises to cater for a school’s accommodation requirements where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section, or a new SEN class has been sanctioned by the NCSE, and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes.

When the assessment of the application is completed, a decision will be conveyed to the school authority directly. It is expected that a decision will be communicated to the school shortly.