Pádraig Rice (Cork South-Central, Social Democrats)
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561. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to reply to matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); if the Department will reconsider this decision; the reasons as to why this decision was communicated so late in the school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23286/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm to the Deputy that my department is in receipt of an application for funding from the school in question. This application for temporary accommodation has been assessed under the department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme.

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 by available accommodation at other schools in the area.

Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.9 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,350 school building projects. Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in the coming months, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 610,000 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.

The Programme for Government recognises the importance of strong capital investment in the school building programme and supporting this with enhanced allocations through the NDP process.

In County Cork alone, in the period 2020–2025, the department has invested €685 million on projects in construction, projects in the pipeline and on completions. There were 156 projects completed in Cork in the period 2020 to 2025 and there are currently 27 projects in construction. There are an additional 40 projects at various stages of detailed design. Further, there are 13 modular projects at an advanced stage of delivery.

I am pleased to advise the Deputy that the assessment of the school's ASA application is now complete. My officials have engaged with the school in recent days and have approved temporary accommodation to facilitate the intake of a second junior infants class at the school. This engagement will continue over the coming weeks with a view to delivering permanent accommodation solutions to the school and its community.