Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2023
304. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Education when she expects to announce projects being approved vis-à-vis the summer works scheme; if she will specifically look at the application made by a school (details supplied) in respect of replacing a collapsing floor in the school’s general purpose room; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32438/23]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works which, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. The SWS operates on a multi-annual basis and was last opened for applications in 2019.
The Department is leading an ambitious sustainability agenda and has progressed a wide array of measures to improve the overall sustainability of our school buildings. It is a priority for Government to deliver on Ireland’s ambitious climate agenda and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes targets around the decarbonisation of Ireland’s public buildings.
As part of it’s planning for 2023 and beyond, Department officials are working on the arrangements for the next phases of the summer works programme. It is envisaged at this stage that, a new Multi-Annual SWS with a focus on climate action and energy conservation will be opened for new applications later in 2023 for delivery of projects on a phased basis from 2024 onwards. Schools will be notified of the details of the SWS in due course.
As the school do not have a current SWS application, the SWS team cannot assist with this request. It is open to school to make an application for a SWS project when the next round of summer works opens for applications.
