Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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1307. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to discuss the need to provide additional funding for sports halls in schools. [44254/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The provision of sports halls is part of the overall School Building Programme. The provision of GP rooms and PE Halls/Sports Gyms, at primary and post primary level respectively, and outdoor hard play areas, form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings. Almost 95% of the post primary schools that made 2020 Annual Schools Returns have indicated to the Department that they either have a PE Hall/Sports gym, access to a nearby PE Hall/Sports Gym, or a project in train that will deliver a new PE Hall/sports gym. Practically all schools have outdoor play areas and many schools use adjacent local facilities, including community halls, public parks, playing fields and swimming pools. The Department provides professional and technical support and guidance documentation to design teams appointed to progress school capital projects including PE and GP halls. Approved projects are assisted with professional advice based on the published technical guidance available on gov.ie as they progress through the various stages of architectural design.

Since 2020, this Department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects.? Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities.?

My department received €210m supplementary capital funding which brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for the department to €1.6 billion.

Maximising existing capacity in schools to meet needs is very important.? The progression of prioritised individual projects to meet the most urgent needs in the 2026 to 2030 period that cannot be met through existing capacity across schools in the local area will be considered on a rolling basis from Autumn onwards following the finalisation of the NDP allocation.

The Deputy will appreciate that the Department is required to manage the overall school building programme so that we target and prioritise areas that are under greatest pressure for additional school places. This reflects the Department’s fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child. A future strengthened focus on refurbishment of existing school stock will have different strands and will include a PE build/Sports gym and modernisation programme which will enable all students in post-primary schools to have access to appropriate facilities to support PE provision and provide important amenities for local communities.