Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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281.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if her Department will provide immediate funding and investment for a school (details supplied) to ensure it can deliver the best possible learning environment for all students including the opening of new special classes, as has been requested by her Department;; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24832/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department has received an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school in question.

The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (or ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.

The consideration of the accommodation requirements for the school in question forms part of the Planning and Building Unit’s overall assessment of its work programme and priorities in the context of available capital funding.

I can assure the Deputy that the provision of required school places, including for children with special educational needs, is a priority for my Department and my officials are working to ensure that there is sufficient provision to meet the school place needs in the school in question and the wider School Planning Area for future years.

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 the requirement for a new class for pupils with special education needs has been identified by the NCSE, and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes.

I am pleased to confirm that an offer of accommodation has been made and issued to the school for acceptance on the 10th May 2024 . This offer is for Reconfiguration of 1 x Mainstream classroom to provide 1 x Special Educational classroom. A response to the offer has not yet been received from the school. My officials remain available to work with the school authorities in relation to this matter.