Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
642. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education the number of schools in Counties Longford and Westmeath that have had school buildings/refurbishment/extension works approved; and the number of those approved works that are delayed at present, in tabular form. [16477/23]
View answerI am pleased to inform the Deputy that on 5 April an agreement was secured to guarantee and support the rollout and continuation of my Department’s ambitious school building programme.
My Department has a proven track record of delivery, with over 180 projects completed last year within a challenging environment of high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues.
This year alone, over 300 school building projects are currently under construction, including 40 new school buildings and 260 projects at existing schools. There are also over 1,000 other school building projects being progressed through various stages of development. My Department also continues to support schools with the successful integration of over 15,000 Ukrainian students within our school system.
The agreement reached on 5 April will facilitate the continued rollout of urgently required school building projects in both mainstream and special education settings, including the 58 projects that were temporarily paused due to capital funding pressures.
My Department is very appreciative of the strong support provided by Government for the education budget.
Officials from my Department have updated each of the 58 schools in relation to the formal arrangements and next steps in respect of the delivery of their individual projects.
The current status of all projects are listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie and is updated on a regular basis to reflect their progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
