Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 June 2016
10. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills if it his policy to provide the necessary extra accommodation when two rural schools amalgamate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18277/16]
View answerAs the Minister knows, from time to time rural schools agree voluntarily to amalgamate. Is there a policy to ensure that in the event of a voluntary amalgamation, extra accommodation will be provided as a matter of priority in the school that is to become the new school, and that the necessary funds will be made available for whatever extra accommodation is needed?
I wish to advise the Deputy that in the case of proposed amalgamations, including those of rural schools, my Department is prepared to consider the provision of additional accommodation or other works, subject to available funding.
Requests for accommodation in the context of amalgamation proposals associated with an amalgamation may range from demands for new school builds or an extension or refurbishment of one of the existing school buildings earmarked for the amalgamated school. Alternatively, an amalgamation proposal may involve the amalgamated school operating on a split-site arrangement from the existing school buildings.
As the Deputy will appreciate, a demand for capital funding contained in amalgamation proposals can be considered only on the merits of each individual case. In that regard, the focus of my Department is towards the provision of the essential accommodation that will facilitate the progression of the amalgamation proposal. As the Deputy is also aware, any proposal to amalgamate schools must involve consultation with all of the relevant stakeholders and be planned and managed in a manner that accommodates the interests of pupils, parents, teachers and local communities.
Where two schools on two different sites decide voluntarily to amalgamate, giving rise to the need for additional accommodation in the school that is to remain open and to which the children in the closing school are to be transferred, and allowing that a school is not to be built, is such a case accorded priority in terms of funding subject to departmental agreement that the extra accommodation is needed to facilitate the amalgamation?
The Department adopts a flexible approach and seeks to facilitate amalgamations wherever it can. However, where capital funding is concerned, the merits of each case have to be assessed. If the Deputy has a particular instance in mind, I can ask the Department to assess the needs in that case. Clearly, this is an area in which the Department seeks to facilitate the wishes of patrons, pupils and parents.
A voluntary amalgamation protocol has been worked out with the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association, CPSMA, in order to anticipate obstacles that might arise in these circumstances. That protocol is being adopted and will be in place for the coming school year.
I thank the Minister for his offer. There is one specific case but I am also interested in the policy approach. Is the protocol available publicly? Could a copy be sent to me as a Deputy so I could make it available to the schools in question to facilitate their approach so they will not be taking a leap in the dark? There is a chicken-and-egg scenario for schools. If schools do not know the likely approach the Department will take or whether the Department will regard the proposed amalgamation as of high priority for funding, it is very difficult for them to agree to go down a road that might not have a happy ending.
Will the Minister confirm that priority funding will be allocated provided the project proceeds in the most efficient way possible? Will he assure me that the protocol will be sent to me on the basis that I will transmit it to the schools in question?
While the Department tries to take a flexible approach, I cannot offer the Deputy a blank cheque in respect of every proposal that is produced. These decisions are not taken at a political level but by the Department. The Department has developed a good protocol to ensure people have confidence in the way in which this matter is dealt with, notwithstanding which schools are involved. While the protocol has not been finalised, I am sure it will become publicly available, especially given that its purpose is to make it easier for people to engage in planning, as Deputy Ó Cuív noted. I hope it will give people who are considering this matter the confidence to assess it. I will be happy to facilitate the Deputy and provide him with a copy of the protocol as soon as it becomes available.
There is no reason for the Minister not to make the draft proposal available. I am surprised it has not been made available to the Joint Committee on Education and Skills for consideration. I understood that the new way of doing business would mean documents of this nature would not be kept from public representatives. Perhaps public representatives would like to have an input in drawing up the protocol. Will it be possible to make the draft protocol available to Members or is there some reason we would not be privy to a draft protocol that could not be commercially sensitive?
I cannot see any reason not to make it available other than that it is being developed with a particular association which, I presume, also wants to manage its stakeholder engagement, so to speak. I have no doubt it can be made available to the Deputy and I will ask that this be done.
