Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 November 2022
81. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education if her Department will engage positively with a school (details supplied) regarding the future needs of the school and how best to progress; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58390/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, St. Mary’s National School is the result of the 1998 amalgamation of three schools in the St. Mary's parish. The school is operating in accommodation on two sites, directly across the road from one another, and has submitted an application to my Department for the provision of a new school building on one of these sites.
The main focus of my Department’s resources over the last decade and for the coming period is on provision of critical additional capacity to meet the requirement for school places, including for students with special educational needs. The accommodation needs of St. Mary’s NS were assessed in that context, and a requirement for additional classroom accommodation was identified. Having appraised the accommodation needs of the school based on information which was available at the time, the purchase of 4 modular interim classrooms for September 2023 was approved for the school. This offer was accepted by the school authorities and official approval has since issued to the school to proceed with this project. However, new information indicates that the circumstances at the school may have changed in the interim and its accommodation needs are, therefore, currently being reassessed by my Department to consider the adequacy of the provision.
Having considered the projected requirements for school places, my Department then makes an assessment of the existing school accommodation capacity within that particular area and its ability to meet any increased demand. A national inventory of school capacity, which utilises information from schools’ annual returns, is maintained by my Department and is supplemented by data on enrolment trends at individual schools as well as other indicators of potential capacity. My Department’s GIS is a critical tool in assessing such data in support of strategic planning for school accommodation needs. The GIS facilitates the geo-spatial analysis of capacity relative to school place demand and the customised reporting of data at local, regional and national levels.
My Department is cognisant of Athlone’s status as a Regional Growth Centre and has been engaging with both Westmeath and Roscommon County Councils in respect of the planned growth in the town. Decisions on the long-term accommodation needs of schools in the town will be taken in this context.
In respect of the existing accommodation at St. Mary’s NS, my Department is planning for an increasing focus on the upgrade and refurbishment of the existing school stock. This will include a deep energy retrofit programme for schools built prior to 2008.
My Department will continue to engage with the school in respect of their accommodation requirements, with a particular priority for additional classroom requirements for the 2023/24 school year.
