Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 February 2024
207. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the reason a school (details supplied) has not received agreed funding for security measures after a serious incident at the school in October 2022; the reason for the delay in the school accessing this funding; when it will receive funding; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7339/24]
View answerThe School to which the deputy refers submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) in January 2023. This application was made under Category 10 which pertains to external environment works and covered a number of measures including some security measures. The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works and some of the works being sought under the application in question were deemed outside of the remit of the EWS. The school was advised to scale back its application and engagement, including a site visit from my Department's EWS team in February 2023, continued with the school for a number of months. This application was approved in May 2023 and the most recent request for payment, which was received in January 2024, has been processed by my Department.
