Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

544.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 395 of 15 September 2021, to provide an update on the longstanding application for a sports hall by a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter.[34408/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department received an application from the school in question in 2017 seeking capital funding for the provision of a PE hall. The school authority was informed that funding was not available for GP/PE halls at this time and their application could not be considered.

However, I am pleased to confirm that funding was approved in September 2019 under my Department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme for the provision of 4x General Classrooms, 1x Special Education Tuition room, 1x Technical Graphics/Design & Communications room, 1x Home Economics room and master planning for the future build of a GP hall.

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 or at school nearby.

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.

Since 2020, my department has invested in the region of €4.9 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 900 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes 30 new school buildings. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.2bn.

I also announced earlier in the year that close to 90 projects, including 28 new school buildings, would be authorised to proceed from tender stage to construction over the course of 2024 and early 2025. In total, around €800 million will be invested in these projects under the department’s Large Scale Capital Programme and Additional Accommodation Scheme for essential classroom accommodation.

Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in this latest phase, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 550,000 square metres of new and modernised capacity to our school estate.

This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right around the country

A future 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.

However, the main focus of the Department’s capital funding over the last decade and for the coming period is on provision of critical additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics and children with special educational needs.

The Department manages the overall school building programme, ensuring that areas under the greatest pressure for addition school places are prioritised. This reflects the Department’s fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child.