Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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297. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number and the cost of school halls for primary schools delivered in 2023, 2022 and 2021, in tabular form. [26203/23]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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298. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number and the cost of school halls for post-primary schools delivered in 2023, 2022 and 2021, in tabular form. [26204/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 297 and 298 together.

I wish to confirm to the Deputy that investment and expenditure on General Purpose (GP) Rooms and 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 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.

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.

In relation to costs for GP rooms at primary level and PE halls at post-primary level, as the construction costs for these facilities form part of an overall project construction cost, it is not possible to specifically identify the total expenditure on GP Rooms and PE Halls as requested by the Deputy. However the average cost estimates for these facilities are set out below:

Average cost estimate to build a GP Room and ancillary accommodation in the following school types:

- 4 classroom primary school (176m2): €0.64m

- 8 to 16 classroom primary school (238m2): €0.83m

- 24 to 32 classroom primary school (476m2): €1.64m

Average cost estimate to build a PE Hall including Changing Rooms and Fitness Suite in the following school type:

- 500 or more pupil post primary school (1,048m2): €4.4m

- Smaller post primary school (743m2): €3.15m

The current position on all major projects on the school building programme are updated regularly on my Department's website www.gov.ie