Written answers

Wednesday, 22 January 2025

Department of Education and Skills

School Accommodation

Photo of Paula ButterlyPaula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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568. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the Drogheda educate together secondary school project on the Mill Road in east Meath, which has been delayed for a considerable amount of time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1015/25]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The project for the school referred to by the Deputy received notification of the decision to grant planning on the 15th of January 2025. If there is no appeal to An Bord Pleanála, the final grant of planning will issue within six weeks of the initial notification, following which the project can progress to the next stage of architectural planning, Stage 2(b) Detailed Design, which includes the preparation of tender documents.

My Department continues to liaise with the school and Patron Body to keep them updated on the progression of the permanent school.

Photo of Paula ButterlyPaula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)
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569. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of all open applications for additional and emergency accommodation application for any primary or secondary schools in County Louth, by the date applied, the type of application, the funding amount, the name of school and the stage of application, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1019/25]

Photo of Norma FoleyNorma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I can advise the Deputy that the purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (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 or at other schools in the area.

Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.7 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,150 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes new school buildings some of which are being delivered in phases. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.3bn.

The department previously announced 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.

I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the total spend for School Building Projects in Co Louth since 2020 is €91.9 million. There have been 26 projects completed in that time and there are currently 9 projects at construction stage. There are also 7 building projects at Design stage and 4 modular projects at an advanced stage of delivery.

I can confirm that there are currently eight open applications for County Louth, which are detailed in the table below. These projects are currently being assessed or a brief is being finalised to issue to the school. The funding amount for a project is not established until the application has been assessed and a brief agreed with the school therefore the accommodation requested has been provided in lieu.

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