Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour)
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804. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to upgrade school buildings in the northside of Cork city that are over 50 years old; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59032/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I should explain that applications relating to the provision of funding for issues relating to existing school buildings can fall under a number of different delivery mechanisms including, most frequently, the Summer Works Scheme and the Emergency Works Scheme.

The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.

An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property, or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.

The EWS operates on the basis of the minimal scope of works required to remedy an emergency situation. The EWS usually provides an interim solution until such time as a comprehensive solution can be provided under a Summer Works Scheme (SWS).

The purpose of the SWS is to enable individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works on a devolved basis and, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school.

All schools were invited to submit applications under the new Climate Action Summer Works Scheme earlier this year while the EWS is open for applications all year-round. A school could make an application under the most appropriate scheme.

In terms of investment in the Cork region generally, my department has invested over €735m in capital expenditure since 2020 in Cork, of which €687m relates to school buildings. This investment has supported the completion of 183 school building projects including 12 new school buildings. Currently 43 projects are in construction, of which 1 is a new school building. In addition, 54 further projects are at an advanced stage of delivery, of which 6 are new school buildings.

The current status of all projects is set out under item number ten at the following link (www.gov.ie). This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.