Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The designation of school sites to serve new and expanding communities is the function of Local Authorities through the statutory development plan process.

My Department’s Statutory Plans Co-ordinating Unit actively engages with the Statutory Planning process to ensure that sufficient land is zoned to provide appropriate sites for new school buildings. It is within the Local Authority’s remit to ensure that land is appropriately zoned for educational purposes. The Code of Practice under the Planning Acts and the Memorandum of Understanding provide for co-operation between Local Authorities and my Department in respect of schools.

Sites that are zoned for schools need to be appropriately located in order to maximise sustainable travel modes, in order to meet targets in the Climate Action Plan.

The Local Authorities take my Department's requirements along with other social, community and economic requirements, including housing need, into consideration when forming a development plan. A climate action strategy forms part of the development plan. Measures under this strategy would include the provision of sustainable travel links between residential areas and schools as part of Active Travel networks.

My Department has published guidelines to assist in the identification and assessment for suitability, of new sites for schools, where the procurement of a new site is required.

The relevant guidelines are TGD-025 for Primary School site identification and TGD-027 for Post-Primary site identification. All technical guidelines are available on the gov.ie website.

These guidance documents recommend that as part of the evaluation of site suitability, a number of factors are taken into account including zoning, existing services, site orientation, topography, transport and access.

The school site selection process is supported by a Site Acquisition Management consultancy team. This team provides a report to officials in my Department, identifying potential school sites. The suitability of these sites is ranked based on a number of criteria including:

• Zoning and Development Plan Provisions,
• Accessibility and Sustainable Transport Modes,
• Proximity to the population to be served, and
• Proximity to services.

My Department also engages with Local Authorities to seek their views when evaluating identified shortlisted sites. This then informs which sites should undergo further technical appraisal.

When a school site is acquired and a building project is progressed, the school design is submitted for Planning Permission to the Local Authority. The Local Authority evaluates the environmental impact of the school development and links to sustainable transport as part of the planning process.

Climate impact is also a key feature of school design. For example, the orientation of school buildings on a new site is planned to maximise the potential of passive solar gain available. This can have a significant impact on the running costs and climate impact of a school building.

My Department is conscious of the emissions impact of the location of new school sites and works with Local Authorities to select the optimum location for schools to serve the educational requirements of an area, while minimising the Climate impact.