Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 March 2017
30. Deputy Colm Brophy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will direct the appropriate officials in his Department to make a site visit to a school (details supplied) in Dublin 24; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10334/17]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department received an application from the school in question for significant funding to facilitate major reconfiguration works within the school building. The request is mainly to have classrooms which were partitioned in 1990 to accommodate a Gaelscoil restored to their original size. The application included architectural plans prepared by an architect engaged by the school outlining the works the school wished to undertake. These plans, together with details of the school property secured by my Department’s technical staff during a previous site visit in 2012, are available to my Department.
Unfortunately, my Department’s current priority has to be focused on the provision of essential classroom accommodation to meet demographic demand to ensure that every child will have access to a physical school place and where an additional teacher is being appointed. All applications for capital funding must be considered in the context of the limited funding available, which must of necessity, be prioritised for this purpose. I understand that there is no additional teacher being appointed to the school concerned. While I can understand the school's desire to enlarge classroom sizes now that the gaelscoil is relocated, it cannot rank as a priority at the present time.
My Department has explained the financial position to the school and advised that the application will be retained on file in the event of further funding becoming available in the future. In the circumstances, a further site visit to the school by my Department would be premature at this stage.
