Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 February 2022
518. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the progress to date or in hand in meeting the school place, replacement of facilities, new school requirements and special needs provision in respect of each school project at primary and post-primary levels in Clane, County Kildare; the extent to which each project is on target in line with projections; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5125/22]
View answerIn order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
The most recent analysis undertaken by my Department projects that over 76% of the 314 school planning areas at primary level have stable or decreasing projected enrolments for the period to 2024, whereas some 88% of the school planning areas at post-primary level are anticipated to have increased enrolments for the period to 2027.
The level of demand volume across school planning areas with an increasing net requirement ranges from small to medium increases that are likely to be accommodated by existing schools through to significant projected growth that may require additional provision.
Where data indicates that additional provision is required at primary or post primary level, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided through either one, or a combination of, the following:
- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,
- Extending the capacity of a school or schools,
- Provision of a new school or schools.
My Department's most recent projections do not indicate significant increases in school place requirements at primary level in the Prosperous-Clane school planning area.
The projections at post-primary level indicate the projected peak year is 2025 with projected enrolment numbers of 1731, decreasing thereafter.
Under Project Ireland 2040, the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion capital investment over the period 2021-2025. This significant investment allows us to move forward with certainty on our ambitious plans and deliver high quality building projects, with a real focus on sustainability, for school communities across Ireland.
This investment will build on the good progress being made on adding capacity to cater for demographic changes and provision for children with special educational needs. This investment will also facilitate an increased focus on the modernisation of existing school stock and help transition the school system for an era of net zero carbon by 2050.
Approximately 1,200 school building projects are currently in progress across the various stages of planning, design, tender and construction – most of which are expected to be either under construction or completed in the period 2021 to 2025.
During the period 2018 to 2021 691 school building projects were completed under the Large Scale Capital Programme (LSCP) and the Additional School Accommodation Scheme (ASA). These projects delivered in excess of 64000 school places. 19 of these projects delivered were in County Kildare; 16 of those were primary schools including one special school and 3 were post-primary school building projects.
It is anticipated that 150 to 200 school building projects will be completed annually during the 2022 to 2025 period.
There are currently in excess of 250 school building projects at construction (on site) with a continuous stream of other projects at or near the tendering stage. These are being progressed as quickly as possible.
The current status of these projects being delivered is listed on a county by county basis on www.gov.ie and is updated on a monthly basis to reflect their progress through the stages.
Clane is located in the Prosperous Clane school planning area. There are currently 5 projects at various stages of planning and design in the Prosperous Clane School Planning Area. These projects, listed below are being progressed through the various stages of assessment and delivery.
The length of time a project takes to deliver depends on a number of factors, including scale and complexity, and is subject to the time it takes to progress through the statutory approval process. There is also always a risk of unforeseen issues giving rise to slippage in the progress of a project through the design, statutory approvals or tendering process. Furthermore, Additional Accommodation projects may differ in the way they progress through the architectural planning process depending on their scope.
Current Large Scale & Additional Scheme Accommodation Projects in Prosperous-Clane
|
Roll No. |
School Name |
School Type |
Project Type |
Current Stage |
|
19796C |
St Patrick's Boys NS |
Primary |
New School |
Stage 4 |
|
13902O |
Hewetsons NS |
Primary |
Extension & Refurbishment |
Stage 1 |
|
91372D |
Scoil Mhuire Community School |
Post Primary |
Extension |
Stage 1 |
|
70720G |
St Farnhan’s School |
Post Primary |
New School |
Stage 2A |
|
12998C |
SN Cianog Naofa |
Primary |
Extension |
Stage 1 |
St. Patrick’s BNS, Roll Number 19796C has a project for a new 24 classroom school. Construction commenced on site in November 2021 and the contract duration is 106 weeks.
Hewetsons NS, Roll Number 13902O This project has been devolved for delivery to the Board of Management of the school. The Service Level Agreement (SLA) was been issued to the Board of Management in December 2020. The Board is currently in the process of procuring a Design Team for the project. Thereafter, it will ensure that the project progresses to design stage, obtains the necessary statutory planning permission, and moves the project onward to tender and construction in due course.
As the project is at an early stage in the delivery process, it is not possible at this time to give a date for its completion.
Scoil Mhuire Community School, Roll Number 91372D has an extension project that was approved in April 2020. The project is currently at Stage 1 Design.
St. Farnan’s PP School, Roll Number 70720G This project has been devolved for delivery to Kildare & Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB). This project is currently at Stage 2a of the architectural planning process. Once the Stage report submission is approved by my Department, the next step for the Design Team will be to obtain the statutory planning approvals. While at this early stage it is not possible to provide a timeline for completion of the project, KWETB will be engaging directly with the school authority to keep it informed of progress.
Scoil Mhuire Allenwood NS Roll Number 20505S My Department currently has on hand an application under the Additional Schools Accommodation Scheme (ASA) from this school, received Dec 2021 for 1 x 80m2 Mainstream Classroom. This application currently under assessment.
