Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 October 2023
46. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education further to a positive meeting between Board of Management of CBS, Mullingar and officials in the school building unit; and her plans to ensure that the application for additional accommodation is dealt with in a timely and innovative way to ensure the school can adequately accommodate the need of current students and the needs of a expanding town. [44910/23]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the purpose of the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.
Under Project Ireland 2040 the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion capital investment over the period 2021-2025. There will be a rolling 5 year funding envelope which will be updated annually for the period 2026 to 2030 within the Government’s overall NDP funding envelope of €136 billion in exchequer capital (€165 billion total capital including non-Exchequer) that will facilitate building a modern and sustainable school infrastructure.
With respect to the application from Coláiste Mhuire, my Department identified particular technical constraints on the site which add significant complexity to the delivery of additional accommodation for the school. My officials recently had a productive meeting with the school and representatives, and the school has since shared a proposal for the new accommodation. This proposal is currently being assessed. While mindful of the need for a solution for the school, my Department is also cognisant of the need to ensure that school building projects are feasible and deliverable, with a view to ensuring that there is sufficient capacity across each area to meet the needs of all students. My Department will be in further contact with the school shortly to discuss the outcome of the assessment of the recent proposal.
