Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 July 2021
4. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Education her plans to increase the provision of multi-use sports halls in primary and post-primary schools; the annual allocations approved nationally for multi-use sports halls, general purpose halls and physical education facilities from 2019; the details of similar projects in County Mayo under consideration by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35173/21]
View answerOur schools need access to multipurpose spaces that will allow for greater physical activity and a safer space for school communities together. There is easily one school in every constituency where the communal spaces are inadequate. Greater availability of such spaces has become a real necessity with the onset of the pandemic. Additional spaces would allow for greater flexibility in our schools and promote physical activity during inclement weather. I am hoping to see allocations of these types of projects increase significantly over the coming year for our primary and post-primary schools.
Many schools have a GP room or sports hall and practically all schools have outdoor play areas. In addition, many schools use adjacent local facilities, including community halls, public parks, playing fields and swimming pools.
Investment and expenditure on GP rooms and PE halls is an element of the overall expenditure and investment in the school building programme. The provision of GP rooms, PE halls and outdoor hard play areas, such as basketball courts, form part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school.
The main focus of resources over the past decade and for the coming period is on the provision of additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics, particularly at post-primary level, and for special needs provision. Under the national development plan, NDP, increased funding has been provided for the school sector capital investment programme. This funding allows for a continued focus on the provision of new permanent school places to keep pace with demographic demand and also provides for an additional focus on the refurbishment of existing school buildings to include the building and modernisation of PE facilities in post-primary schools. At present, this investment is targeted to the latter half of the NDP programme.
Details of large-scale projects being delivered under the school building programme, including in respect of Mayo, may be viewed on the Department's website, education.ie, and this information is updated on a regular basis. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.
I thank the Minister. Recently, I had discussions on the sports capital and equipment programme with the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers, and I know this scheme has been opened up to schools and education and training boards, provided that they make a joint application for local sports organisations.
That is welcome but does not go far enough to address the infrastructural deficits in some of our schools, which are in desperate need of facilities. There is an opportunity to better highlight the availability of funding pathways within the Department and ensure that boards of management and principals are fully aware of the available funding opportunities. While the sports capital programme will be good for sporting needs such as multisport facilities, there is a need for funding to be prioritised for non-sporting facilities, such as general purpose rooms and assembly or PE halls, as some schools have no such facility. I ask the Minister to give some consideration to providing dedicated funding streams for general, multipurpose PE halls in primary school. I know of the case of Derrywash National School, the representatives of which have been continuously in contact with me on this matter.
I thank the Deputy and appreciate the case he makes and the importance of the provision of these sorts of facilities in our schools. As I have previously outlined, they are part of funding via the NDP but we are looking towards the latter half of the timeframe of the plan for allocation. It is something of which I am conscious. I must also point out there is an enormous budgetary constraint in terms of provision. A GP room, for example, for a four-classroom primary school comes in at around €684,000. For an eight- to 16-classroom primary school, the cost is more than €900,00. A GP room for a 24-classroom primary school costs €1.8 million. A PE hall costs in excess of €3 million. I am conscious of the need, particularly from a health and fitness point of view and also on the basis of the additional resource that it provides to a school. I will do all that I can to advance that as quickly as possible, given the financial constraints we face.
I thank the Minister. I understand that Project Ireland 2040 commits to spending €8.8 billion on primary and post-primary school buildings. It is welcome that this ensures students in all post-primary schools will have access to appropriate facilities, such as PE halls. It is hugely important that we ensure PE halls and the modernisation programmes are rolled out as quickly as possible and that we have upgrades and refurbishments to the existing school stock. Those should be prioritised in coming years.
I listened to a recent Joe Molloy interview with the Taoiseach on the idea of a dedicated PE teacher in primary schools to help Ireland fight childhood obesity. The structure of PE at primary level needs focus. It has been historically problematic and in order to tackle childhood obesity, I would like to see the Department take the lead on this.
I thank the Deputy. I again say that I am wholly in agreement with him. I know from personal experience the importance of PE departments and all they achieve at second level. The provision of halls and a general purpose room at primary school level is important. The multipurpose nature of accommodations of that nature speaks to health and fitness while also allowing for enormous creative endeavour. It also facilitates school gatherings and events. There are enormous benefits. That is unquestionable. The commitment is there, as the Deputy has referenced, in the vision we have for schools, going forward. It would be my intention, if at all possible, to draw the funding sooner rather than when it is projected to be available. I will consider the Deputy's point about the provision of teachers specifically dedicated to the work of PE in primary school, going forward.
