Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 April 2024
295. Deputy Marian Harkin asked the Minister for Education for an update on an application for additional accommodation for a school (details supplied); if it will be considered, as a matter of urgency; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18970/24]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department has recently received an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school authority in question.
The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (or ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.
At primary level, this situation generally arises to cater for a school’s accommodation requirements where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section, or the requirement for a new class for pupils with special education needs has been identified by the NCSE, and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes.
My Department has been in correspondence with the school requesting additional information and once this information has been received, the department will be in a position to progress the application further. The school authority in question will be contacted directly with a decision.
