Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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364. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will consider the payment of one-off grant payments of approximately €2,000 and €3,000 to assist schools that have experienced minor damage due to storm Éowyn; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6028/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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My department recognises the significance of the Minor Works Grant for primary and special schools. As part of Project Ireland 2040, a commitment was made to ensure that this grant would be paid to all primary and special schools in either December or January of each school year. In recent years, however, the department has provided the grant ahead of the new school year. Since 2020, a total of €280 million has been distributed under the Minor Works Grant. This includes €29 million issued in April 2024 to support the operation of all primary and special schools for the 2024/25 school year.

Primary and special schools need not apply for minor works grant aid. Under the scheme, funding is made available to all primary and special schools on the following basis:

€5,500 basic grant plus €18.50 per mainstream pupil and €74 per special needs pupil enrolled in the school on the 30th of September of the year prior to the issue of the grant. The €74 rate applies to a special needs pupil attending a special school or attending a special class attached to a mainstream school. Schools have the autonomy to use this funding for maintenance and small-scale improvements to school buildings and grounds. Given that each school setting is different, individual schools are best placed to decide how best to use this funding to address their particular needs.

My department's Planning & Building Unit is currently assessing its work programme and priorities for 2025 in the context of its available funding. The timeline for the payment of the next tranche of Minor Works Grant funding will be confirmed in due course.

Following the recent weather events and associated school structural damage resulting from Storm Éowyn, officials from my department’s Planning and Building Unit have been in contact with a number of schools who have been affected. School structural damage resulting from Storm Éowyn will be primarily dealt with via insurance and supplemented, where necessary, through my department’s Emergency Works Scheme.