Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 24 November 2022
84. Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill asked the Minister for Education the status of the new school build for a school (details supplied) given that it has been in its temporary location for the past three years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57657/22]
View answerSetanta Special School and Ballyowen Meadows Special School are part of a large-scale capital project, to be co-located on campus at the existing site in Stillorgan. I want to reassure the Deputy that these projects are key priorities for the Department and will be progressed ASAP.
Setanta Special School, in Stillorgan, is a co-educational day school which caters for post primary children with special needs on the Autistic Spectrum and Ballyowen Meadows Special School is a co-educational day school which caters for primary school children with special needs on the Autistic Spectrum.
The project brief is to provide two new 10 classroom schools, a clinic, activity rooms, assembly hall/general purpose room, playgrounds and sensory gardens.
The building project for Setanta Special School and for Ballyowen Meadows Special School is at an advanced stage of the Tender process (stage 3 Tender Action & Award).
The tender process has taken longer than normal due to tenders being withdrawn by contractors. This is reflective of the current challenging inflation and construction environment. As part of moving forward with the project, contractors were provided with an opportunity to refresh their tenders.
A recommended tenderer has now been identified and the Design Team are preparing a Stage 3 Tender Report for submission to my Department. Subject to no issues arising, it is currently envisaged that works could commence on site in Quarter 2, 2023 with a completion timeframe of approximately 18 months.
These two special schools are part of a strong pipeline of school building projects for delivery under the Government’s National Development Plan. My Department has a strong track record of delivery with over 360 school building projects at construction during 2022 including over 50 new schools. My Department has an allocation of €4.4 billion to facilitate delivery during the period 2021 to 2025. This strong investment by Government recognises the importance of adding capacity and modernising facilities in our schools. The delivery of these projects will provide modern purpose built facilities for these two special schools. This is very important to support the great work being done at the schools.
Special school projects are a very important part of my Department's capital programme. There are currently 57 projects in the pipeline for special schools across the country – 8 of which are currently at construction. I look forward to getting them progressed and delivered as quickly as possible.
