Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 Mar 2023

Vol. 1035 No. 4

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate

Schools Building Projects

Deputy Steven Matthews

I am delighted the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, is here to answer this question regarding solar panels for schools. Last October, we announced in the budget that we would roll out solar panels on schools for free. It is a very sensible suggestion. It can power the lighting and the interactive white boards in the schools. The increase in the number of school meals we rolled out can be heated. I am delighted we were able to introduce it in last year's budget.

We know solar works very well in Ireland and there have been incredible advances in the roll-out of solar in Ireland. As someone who worked as an electrician for 30 years, I was delighted to see the transition we are making to 80% of our electricity being generated from renewable sources. Solar will play a massive part in that. As a Government, we have made some advances and it is important to acknowledge that. We have changed the regulations and planning exemptions have been introduced, so we no longer need planning permission for the installation of solar panels on commercial, domestic and farm buildings.

We introduced a really ambitious grant scheme through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI, which supports people who wish to put solar panels on their roofs at a domestic level. We also introduced a feed-in tariff, so people can be paid for the excess electricity they generate from their rooftops which they do not use at source. Any extra is paid back to the customer.

We have put all of that in place and it has set the framework and groundwork for a solar rooftop revolution. For every kilowatt of electricity we generate in solar, it is 1 kW that does not have to be generated by gas, oil or coal. It helps with the transition to a decarbonised society. Thousands of jobs are being created. I know people who have started to work in the industry and who are fitting solar panels. They are out the door with work. I hope they will be out the door with work for the next 30 years as we roll this out across the country.

There have been massive advances and improvements in the technology in solar. A solar panel has become so much cheaper. The efficiency of solar panels has improved, so they generate a lot more power than the old ones did. The payback time has improved significantly. I always refer back to the report by MaREI, the research centre for energy, climate and marine in Cork. It talked about the payback time in a domestic setting, which is approximately seven years if 2.5 kW of generation power is put on the roof of a house. We can go up to 6 kW on a domestic scale but that depends on the electricity used during the day. We are working on a utility scale. The first grid-connected solar farm was put into Ashford in County Wicklow and powered up last year. It is a win-win for the farmer who can still graze the land. He gets rent from the solar company which fitted the solar panels and the solar company gets its tariff when it feeds into the grid. Our climate action plan sets a really ambitious target of 8 GW of solar power by 2030.

That brings us to schools. It makes complete sense to do this. When I visit schools, they are so engaged in climate action and want to know about energy, electricity, climate, biodiversity and so on. However, I am not sure what to tell them regarding the free solar panels for their rooftops, so I hope the Minister can enlighten me on that.

Minister for Education (Deputy Norma Foley)

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline the current position on the provision of solar panels to schools. I acknowledge Deputy Matthews's personal investment in this and his support for this initiative.

It is a priority for the Government to deliver on Ireland's ambitious climate agenda and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This includes targets around the decarbonisation of Ireland's public buildings. My Department is leading an ambitious sustainability agenda and has progressed a wide array of measures to improve the overall sustainability of our school buildings.

The Department of Education is at the forefront of design with respect to sustainable energy in school buildings, and this performance has been recognised at both national and international levels with sustainable energy awards for excellence in design and specification.

The National Development Plan 2021-2030, which was published in October of 2021, provides capital funding of more than €4.4 billion for investment in school infrastructure during the period 2021 to 2025. There continues to be a strong climate action dimension to this additional modernisation programme.

Schools that are designed and built in accordance with the Department's schools technical guidance documents have been achieving A3 building energy ratings since 2009, with current schools typically achieving up to 20% higher energy performance and 25% better carbon performance than required by the current building regulations, along with 10% of primary energy provided via photovoltaics and infrastructure provision for electric vehicle charging.

All new technologies and approaches are tested to ensure compatibility with school design and operational requirements. Successful and repeatable results are then incorporated into all new school designs and refurbishments. The Department's policy is supported by a strong research programme, with 54 research projects at various stages. This is a joint partnership with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, SEAI.

In the interest of sustainability, it is critical that renewable applications are properly suited to the schools' needs to reduce energy costs and carbon and not just applied for the sake of having renewables. It is also critical we minimise the demand for energy before we invest in renewable energy applications. This has been assisted in previous years with the wall and attic insulation programme and the water conservation programme.

My Department and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications established a jointly funded pathfinder programme, which is administered by the SEAI and the planning and building unit in the Department of Education, with delivery support from Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board. This pathfinder is a great example of collaboration ensuring the deployment of new design approaches and technologies in the educational environment on an evidence-based approach. This programme continues to assist the Department to explore options and to test various solutions for decarbonised energy efficiency solutions in our broad range of school building types. It is paving the way for and informing a much larger schools national programme for the decarbonisation of schools built prior to 2008, as included in the national development plan, and will play a key part of meeting delivery of the climate action plan. It is facilitating research on a range of typical retrofit options, which will have been tried and tested. It is providing valuable development information for a solution-driven delivery strategy that will be founded on a solid evidence base that has proven the robustness and scalability of renewable solutions within the schools sector.

The pathfinder programme has retrofitted 48 schools across Ireland to date, with work on an additional 16 schools currently at various stages. Each school undergoes a comprehensive assessment to ensure the measures are suitable for that school and will deliver value to both the school and learnings for the national retrofit programme. The works typically involve upgrades to the building fabric, including wall and roof insulation, doors and windows, air tightness improvements, LED lighting and heating upgrades as well as renewable technologies.

Budget 2023 provided for the provision of funding from the climate action fund in respect of the provision of solar panels in schools up to 6 kW output. This is very positive news for our schools and will assist with their energy needs and costs along with supporting the decarbonisation of our school buildings. My departmental officials are working closely with colleagues in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on the arrangements for this scheme, and details will be announced in the shortest timeframe possible.

As part of the preparation for the roll-out of the national programme, a key first step was to establish the level of existing-----

An Leas-Cheann Comhairle

Thank you, Minister. You will get a chance to come back in.

Deputy Steven Matthews

I appreciate the Minister's response. I visit many schools around County Wicklow and I commend her Department on the quality of the build of the new schools there. The quality is exceptionally high.

The pathfinder programme is very important. The Minister knows better than anybody the pressure schools are often under to heat their buildings. They are always under financial pressure. They have to spend the money on heating when they could be spending it on activities for the children and the students. I think the Minister appreciates and understands that. The pathfinder programme is therefore incredibly important.

As the Minister points out, this is not just about using the same amount of energy but from a different source. It is about getting those energy efficiencies in place, getting that heating, getting those walls insulated, taking the fabric first approach, keeping the heat in when it is generated, new doors and windows, etc. Putting solar panels on roofs is the next step in that regard. I can think of no better example to set those young minds in those schools than when they see the advances we can make in technology and see that we use the UV power of the sun to generate electricity to power those schools. That instils in those children what we can innovate and what we can do in this country.

I would like to see this rolled out as quickly as possible. Many of the newer build schools are set up and wired for these solar panels already but many of the older schools are not. I do not know what the process would be to decide which schools go first. I would like to see this rolled out to all schools as quickly as possible. I would like to see solar panels across the entire country, on every rooftop, every farm, every commercial building, every factory and every school.

I will leave it in the Minister's capable hands with the Minister, Deputy Ryan. I look forward to seeing these solar panels rolled out across County Wicklow and pointing out to the students that this is climate action, it is their future, it is job creation, it is the decarbonisation of Ireland, and we are leading on that.

Deputy Norma Foley

I again thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to clarify the position in respect of photovoltaics, PV, provision and to overview some of the ambitious sustainability agenda being progressed to improve the overall sustainability of our school buildings. I sincerely acknowledge the Deputy's personal engagement with me on this issue. I acknowledge it is very close to his heart and I acknowledge the commitment from both my Department and the Department of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to advance this.

There has been significant investment to date, as I have outlined, in retrofitting schools, and the Department will continue to support that in conjunction with the SEAI. As highlighted already, the Department has delivered very strong energy efficiency standards in our new school buildings.

In respect of solar panels specifically, Department of Education officials are working closely with colleagues in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications on the arrangements specific to this scheme, and details will be announced in the shortest timeframe possible. As part of the preparation for the roll-out of the national programme, as I had started to say, a key first step was to establish the level of existing PV installations in our schools. This capacity survey is nearly completed and will inform how we can progress. The provision of the solar panels will be fully funded for schools, which is an important consideration for all our schools, and the roll-out of the solar panel scheme is expected to commence later this year.

Equally as important for the benefit of our schools, and the Deputy referred to the manner in which schools will be prioritised, is that this will be a multi-annual programme. There is an absolute commitment from both the Department of Education and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to advance this initiative for the benefit of our schools. It is very much part of climate action, as the Deputy said. There is no one more invested in the whole area of sustainability and climate action than our students themselves. They have been terrific leaders in the area of sustainability and climate action. This will be a welcome addition to our schools and, as I said, we will give the detail of it in the shortest timeframe possible.

School Enrolments

Deputy Seán Haughey

In recent weeks I have been contacted by a number of parents who have been driven demented trying to find primary school places for their children who are due to commence their formal education this coming September. The majority of these parents live in the Donaghmede-Howth-Dublin 13 school planning area. Parents living in the Belmayne, Clongriffin and Parkside estates are experiencing serious problems finding school places and they are sick with worry about it. There are two schools in this area that are central to this problem: Belmayne Educate Together National School and St. Francis of Assisi Primary School. Parents have been told by the schools that they cannot accommodate any more pupils and their children will be put on a waiting list. These parents have also applied to other primary schools in the school planning area as well as schools in adjacent school planning areas and catchment areas, including schools in Portmarnock and Malahide, but to no avail.

There is massive building and construction taking place in this locality.

It is on the northern fringe of Dublin city and borders the administrative area of Fingal County Council. This residential construction is most welcome. Housing for All is certainly delivering in this area but there needs to be adequate planning for the resultant increase in population, and school planning in particular. Parents in the Killester-Raheny-Clontarf and Beaumont-Coolock-Dublin 5 school planning areas have also been in touch with me regarding their difficulties in sourcing school places for their children. This problem also occurred last year. It is clear extra classes are needed in this school planning area for the 2023-24 academic year. As the Minister knows, school admission policies must be open and transparent and, therefore, section 29 appeals are not usually relevant in the cases brought to my attention.

Will the Minister let me know how the Department plans for the provision of adequate school places in a school planning area? I understand it utilises a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. The Minister stated previously that a lack of accommodation can be driven by a number of factors, such as duplication of applications and school choice issues, including patronage and single-sex versus coeducational considerations. As I said, there is a problem in this school planning area. It has been identified to me at this stage, early in the year. When does the Department decide that additional school places and accommodation are needed? These parents are particularly worried. They are on waiting lists all over the place and are very disappointed they do not have any certainty regarding a school place for their child at this time. Any information the Minister can give in this regard will be greatly appreciated.

Deputy Norma Foley

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It gives me the opportunity to set out to the House the position with regard to primary school places in the Donaghmede-Howth-Dublin 13 school planning area for September 2023 and onwards.

As the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes, the Department of Education divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses, as the Deputy referenced, a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including child benefit data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department’s projections of school place requirements. Having considered the projected requirements in each school planning area, the Department then makes an assessment of the existing capacity within that particular area and its ability to meet any increased demand.

Where data indicate that additional provision is required at primary or post-primary level, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstance of each case and may be provided through either one, or a combination of, the following: utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools; extending the capacity of a school or schools; or provision of a new school or schools. On the basis of such assessment, significant additional primary capacity is already being delivered in the area, including two recently established new primary schools, namely, the Educate Together national school and Gaelscoil Ghráinne Mhaol. A new 16-classroom school building for the Educate Together national school is almost complete and a project to provide a new eight-classroom school for Gaelscoil Ghráinne Mhaol is at stage 1. There are further projects providing additional capacity at Holy Trinity Senior National School and Scoil Cholmcille Senior National School and a recent project at Howth National School provided four new classrooms. The Department is also providing accommodation for children with special educational needs at schools in the area, including at the two new schools, and as part of projects at St. Paul’s Junior National School, St. Kevin’s Junior National School, Scoil Naomh Colmcille and St. Paul’s Senior National School.

While the Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional school places in the Dublin 13 area, it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may not be as a result of lack of accommodation but may be driven by the following factors, as previously outlined by the Deputy. There can, in instances, be a duplication of applications where pupils have applied for a place to a number of schools. There is a school-of-choice issue, where pupils cannot get a place in their preferred school, while there are places in other schools in the town or area identified. Some towns or areas have single-sex schools and while places are available in the school, they are not available to all pupils. There is also external draw, that is, pupils coming from outside the local area.

The Department is working to establish the true extent of any capacity issues across school planning areas through ongoing discussions with the relevant school patrons and authorities. This close engagement will allow the Department to identify at an early stage particular capacity requirements for the forthcoming years that may necessitate further action to that already in train, including, where required, the provision of modular accommodation solutions. The Department will continue to keep the short-, medium- and long-term requirements for school places in the Donaghmede-Howth-Dublin 13 school planning area under ongoing review, including through liaison with the local authority in respect of its review of the development and local area plans.

I assure the Deputy the Department will continue to work with schools and patrons to ensure there is appropriate provision for all students in the Donaghmede-Howth-Dublin 13 area for the 2023-24 school year and into the future.

Deputy Seán Haughey

I thank the Minister for that comprehensive response. Will the Department specifically contact Belmayne Educate Together National School and St. Francis of Assisi Primary School to ask school authorities about their position on this matter and what they would like the Department to do in respect of their schools? There is a particular local demand in the three estates I mentioned.

I will also ask about the role of Tusla's education support service in securing school places for children under six years of age, with particular reference to the educational welfare service, EWS, and its educational welfare officers. Local educational welfare officers have told parents they have no role to play in respect of children under six years of age, yet in reply to a parliamentary question I submitted to the Minister earlier this month, she stated that "the EWS provides guidance and advice to parents of children aged under 6 and over 16 with regard to applications for school places". This needs to be clarified. The EWS could do much more to help parents find school places for their children.

This brings me to the position of parents of children with special educational needs in this school planning area. They face even greater difficulties. The special educational needs organisers attached to the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, could do a lot more to assist parents find suitable school places. In this context, will the Minister clarify if section 67 of the school admissions Act has been commenced? This would allow the NCSE to designate a suitable school placement for a young person with special educational needs where local attempts to resolve matters have not been successful. The parents I have spoken to believe this section has not been commenced as yet. I would welcome clarification on this issue as well.

Deputy Norma Foley

I again thank the Deputy for giving me an opportunity to outline the position regarding primary school demand in the Donaghmede-Howth-Dublin 13 area. As I outlined, the Department is already providing significant additional primary capacity in the area, on foot of forecasts of school place needs. This includes two recently established new primary schools. While the Department is aware of enrolment pressures in the Donaghmede-Howth-Dublin 13 area for the 2023-24 school year, it is important to note there can be multiple reasons for enrolment pressures, including duplication of applications for admission.

The Department will continue to engage with relevant school authorities and patrons to monitor school place needs and to identify any required accommodation solutions, over and above those already in train. In any area where there is an identified deficit of school accommodation for the 2023-24 school year, the Department has a project management service and modular accommodation framework in place that will assist in expediting the delivery of required accommodation solutions. The priority of the Department continues to be to ensure that places are available for every student for the next school year, and will continue to engage with patrons and school authorities in this regard.

On the matter of the two specific schools the Deputy raised, I am happy there will be follow-up on that.

The reply outlines significant developments in respect of whether it is the Educate Together national school or Gaelscoil Ghráinne Mhaol. The Educate Together national school is located in a 16-classroom school and the eight-classroom addition to Gaelscoil Ghráinne Mhaol is at stage 1. The further projects providing additional capacity include those relating to Holy Trinity National School, Scoil Cholmcille Senior National School. The project at Holy Trinity National School involved the provision of four new classrooms.

The Deputy referred specifically to children and young people with special education needs. The Department is also providing accommodation for children with additional needs at schools in the area, including, as already outlined, at the two new schools.

School Accommodation

Deputy Emer Higgins

Stunned, shocked, appalled, frustrated and let down; this is how parents and teachers in my constituency are feeling after projects relating to their local schools were put on pause because of a row between the Department and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. Building costs have increased dramatically and the Department’s budget needs to be increased as a result. I completely get that point, and I agree with the Minister on it. Prices did not increase overnight, however, and these discussions really needed to have taken place prior the budget. Having them now and putting much-needed, long-promised school building projects - 58 across the country - on hold is not just unprofessional, it is utterly unfair to the students, staff and parents involved. The students, staff and parents I have been speaking to in the past couple of weeks feel like the projects relating to their schools have been put on the long finger. They feel that they have been abandoned by the Department of Education, and I do not blame them.

I was a student in Holy Family Community School when the talk of a new building first started. Like so many other schools, it has endured multiple setbacks and a number of false starts. Now, when it is ready to break ground on its new building, the project has been paused. Right across my constituency, school building projects have been promised but not delivered. Holy Family Community School is one, but there are many others. Significant extensions or new buildings were promised in respect of Lucan Community College, Scoil Chrónáin, St. Thomas Primary School, Scoil Naomh Áine, Divine Mercy Junior National School, Gaelscoil Chluain Dolcáin and Gaelscoil na Camóige. All of the schools in question are still waiting for those projects to commence. We also have newly established schools with no permanent homes. I refer here to Rathcoole Educate Together, Griffeen Community College, Gaelscoil Lir and Coláiste Pobail Fóla in City West. These schools were all set up on the promise that they would get brand-new shiny school buildings but they are all still waiting for these. That is not to mention all of the schools still waiting for prefabs, such St. Ronan's National School, Moyle Park College and many others.

I am sure that the Minister can hear the frustration in my voice. It reflects the frustration I hear daily. I represent a rapidly growing area. My constituency contains two strategic development zones and has a shortage of school places.

At a meeting with principals from eight schools in Clondalkin in recent days, I was told to expect a September like no other as a result of the fact that not all post-primary schoolchildren will be given second level school places. We must think about that for a second. There are principals in my constituency who are preparing to tell parents that their children will be denied their right to education. This is at a time when schools have been promised buildings to help accommodate those same children. Unfortunately, the projects relating to those buildings have been put on pause. Where is the joined-up thinking? In what world do we think that putting these projects on pause will do anything other than deepen the crisis relating to schools? All that is happening is that the problem is shifting from one side of the Department to the other. Meanwhile, it is children, parents and staff who are caught in the crossfire. That is just not good for the constituents to whom I refer. When will this matter be resolved for the 58 schools across the country? When will the projects relating to those schools get the green light to proceed to construction?

Deputy Norma Foley

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It gives me the opportunity to provide an update on the current position regarding a number of school building projects that are on hold from proceeding to either tender or construction due to capital funding pressures.

The Department's capital allocation has always been under significant pressure. The Department has a strong track record of fully utilising that allocation. In many years, it has required supplementary capital funding in order to deliver urgently required school building projects. The pressures on the capital allocation have been compounded since the national development plan, NDP, allocations were determined in 2021 by the impact of high construction inflation, the increasing prevalence of autism and other complex special education needs, which require the accelerated delivery of special educational needs provision at pace, and the urgent need to provide capacity for students from Ukraine and other countries under the international protection system. It is remarkable to note that more than 15,000 students from Ukraine alone have been accommodated in our school system within existing capacity. That obviously will have an impact.

The national priority, in the context of the NDP, to increase the roll-out of housing is also adding to pressures on the Department's capital allocation in light of the knock-on impact for additional school provision requirements. The Department's published NDP allocation for 2023 is €860 million. As part of its planning ahead, the Department is in the advanced stages of engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on capital funding pressures in order to continue to be able to adequately support the operation of the school system with the roll-out of school building projects to tender and construction in 2023, including the projects referred to in media reports. For the information of the Deputy, engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform has been ongoing for a considerable time in respect of additional funding.

There were over 180 school building projects delivered during 2022. These projects included accelerated delivery of modular accommodation to support provision for 900 pupils with special education needs. Approximately 300 school building projects continued in construction at the start of 2023, the majority of which will be completed this year or early in 2024. The latter includes more than 40 new school building projects. This is a considerable undertaking. All of these projects are helping to support the operation of our schools, are delivered to the highest standards and are very energy-efficient.

This strong level of delivery is a key driver of capital pressures in the Department. Over 70% of the NDP allocation for 2023 is needed to cover expenditure on contractual commitments on approximately 300 existing projects at construction carried forward from 2022.

Strategic initiatives put in place to support planning for school provision requirements include the setting up of 16 regional education and language teams to facilitate enrolment of over 15,000 children from Ukraine, which has also been undertaken by the school building unit. Necessary smaller scale refurbishment and maintenance in approximately 1,000 schools has also been undertaken. Some 16 deep energy retrofit pathfinder projects are ongoing in partnership with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. Strategic initiatives put in place to support delivery include the use of project manager supports, procurement frameworks, a variety of delivery mechanisms and a strong pipeline of projects.

It is also important to note that the Department, with the superb co-operation of schools on the ground, as I have already outlined, has accommodated students not only from Ukraine but also from other parts of the world.

These pressures have resulted in the need for my Department's planning and building unit to assess its work programme and priorities for the remainder of 2023 in the context of its available funding. The Department is at the advanced stages of engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform on capital funding pressures in order to continue to adequately support the operation of the school system with roll-out of school building projects to construction, including those in Dublin Mid-West, in 2023. Progress has been made and the Department is anxious to bring this to resolution very quickly.

Key priorities in my Department's work programme include continuing strong delivery to support the operation of the school system, with particular regard to planning ahead for the 2023-24 school year and beyond and to supporting special needs provision.

Deputy Emer Higgins

I thank the Minister for her four-minute reply to my simple question asking when this matter will be resolved. The answer appears to be that it will be very soon. This does not provide much clarity for the schools involved. The reality is that no matter when it is resolved, this is going to continue to be disruptive. It is particularly disruptive in the context of shovel-ready projects. What do I mean by that? If one looks at Holy Family Community School, for example, the tender has been awarded, an architect has been appointed and the contract is ready to go. The Minister may tell me that it will be a couple of weeks or a couple of months before the project proceeds. No matter what she says, however, there will be disruption for the school. This is because any delay in respect of a shovel-ready project can have serious consequences. It is very different if a project is at stage 2 and planning permission has just been granted and the board of management has been told that it will be only a couple of weeks until funding is allocated. That can be absorbed in the context of the entire process. If a project reaches the point where the time has come to break ground, however, there is a genuine risk that the school may lose its contractor because it can provide no clarity other than saying that matters will proceed very soon. At that point, the project will move backwards in the process and a new tender will have to issue. The project will probably then become more expensive for the Department. It could be a few days or a few weeks. We do not know how long the delay will be - it could be days or weeks - but it could potentially set a project back by a year, particularly if there is a need to re-tender. The final bill could be higher as a result.

That is utterly counterproductive and counterintuitive. Shovel-ready projects have waited way too long to get to this point, and including them in this pause could have a detrimental impact on their timelines and on the Minister's budgets.

We have to be practical. We have to rethink this and allow shovel-ready projects to move ahead while these departmental negotiations continue. Not doing that would not do justice to schools, staff, children and their parents, and I know that is what Deputy Foley wants to achieve as Minister for Education. That is her ambition and it is the shared ambition of us all, but we need to progress these school buildings to make it happen.

Deputy Norma Foley

I am very cognisant of the frustration that exists. Any project being paused is one too many, but we have considerable issues regarding the availability of capital. The Deputy referred very genuinely to the fact that she was a student herself in one of the schools when the new building was first mooted, but I cannot stand over what has happened in the intervening period between when she was a student and is now a Deputy. I do not know what happened in those intervening years. I can comment only on what has happened on my watch in the past two and a half years or so.

More than 180 school building projects were delivered in 2022, which included the accelerated delivery of modular accommodation to support the provision of 900 pupils with special educational needs. Approximately 300 school building projects continued into construction at the start of 2023, the majority of which will be completed in 2023 or early 2024, and this includes more than 40 new school buildings. Currently, there is an issue with additional capital being required, largely for the reasons I outlined. We are in a very different circumstance now compared with when the NDP allocation was first made. Various issues have arisen, such as the increased cost of living, events in Ukraine, the additionality of students and so on, but we have continued with the building programme throughout Covid. We are in ongoing engagement with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, and I acknowledge the positive engagement from the Minister at that Department. It is my hope and expectation those engagements and discussions we are having with that Department regarding the availability of funding will come to a conclusion quickly. I am very conscious of the importance of driving on these projects, and we in the Department are fully committed to doing so. Again, I welcome the very positive engagement from the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, and we await the outcome of those engagements.

Housing Schemes

Deputy Dessie Ellis

We have just had an intense and emotional debate on a Sinn Féin Private Members' motion that called for an extension of the eviction ban to protect tenants and ensure they will have somewhere to live during this housing and rental crisis. There is no doubt there is great fear among renters at the moment. Many feel vulnerable and deeply distressed that when the ban is lifted at the end of the month, they may face the prospect of being made homeless. Despite the Government's claims, sufficient social and affordable housing is not being built. There is also no proper targeting of the huge number of vacant properties with a view to making them habitable and going some way towards relieving the stresses of the demand for housing. The Government needs to look at every available option to ensure it will maximise the number of properties available for those looking to be housed.

Part of this process is an urgent requirement for the Government to encourage local authorities to boost the tenant in situ scheme, which encourages local authorities to buy properties that have been put up for sale by the landlord where an existing tenant is in receipt of State support such as the housing assistance payment, HAP, or the rent supplement or is on the rental accommodation scheme, RAS. These schemes are important in helping prevent State-supported tenants from being evicted into homelessness. A recent report in The Irish Times showed there has been a shockingly low uptake of the tenant in situ scheme and that only a fraction of the target of 1,500 properties have been purchased. It is scandalous that, in this housing crisis, local authorities are not using a mechanism that can keep tenants in place, prevent vulnerable tenants from being evicted and eliminate the stress and fear for a family facing the prospect of being made homeless. In the past year, local authorities have bought fewer than 370 properties in tenant in situ arrangements. Fingal County Council, it should be noted, has bought none. The report in The Irish Times showed that even though more than 400 properties had been offered to the local authorities in Dublin, no more than 13 homes were purchased under the scheme between the four councils. Figures from other local authorities show a similarly low trend of uptake of such purchases. I understand that local authorities face certain challenges with the scheme. The goal of the scheme, however, is to prevent families from entering into homelessness, and this far outweighs any challenges the local authorities face when implementing it.

Part of that challenge relates to where a tenant is renting in one local authority but is on the housing list of a neighbouring authority. In the current distressed housing and rental markets, it should be obvious that a tenant who is receiving HAP from the neighbouring authority should be allowed to remain in situ if the local authority in the area where he or she is renting purchases the property. It makes perfect sense for this to happen. Local authorities need to be imaginative and flexible in their approach to such matters. By thinking outside the box, they can help make a dent in the housing and rental crisis. The Minister of State needs to keep the pressure on local authorities and be more proactive in implementing the tenant in situ scheme.

Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage (Deputy Kieran O'Donnell)

I thank the Deputy. I agree the debate we had was intense. As he noted, this is about keeping people in their homes.

Housing for All is the Government’s plan to increase the supply of housing to an average of 33,000 units per year up to 2030, comprising the delivery of 90,000 social homes, 36,000 affordable purchase homes and 18,000 cost-rental homes. The strategy is supported by an investment package of more than €4 billion per annum through an overall combination of €12 billion in direct Exchequer funding, €3.5 billion in funding through the Land Development Agency and €5 billion through the Housing Finance Agency.

Under Housing for All, the Government will deliver 47,600 new-build social homes and 3,500 social homes through long-term leasing in the period 2022 to 2026. Our clear focus is to increase the stock of social housing through new-build projects delivered by local authorities and approved housing bodies. Under the strategy, there is provision for 200 social housing acquisitions each year, outside of the tenant in situ scheme. However, with increased pressures on housing and the exit of landlords from the market, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage reinstated delegated sanction to local authorities in April 2022 to acquire social housing properties for a number of specific categories, including properties that allow persons to exit or prevent homelessness.

For 2023, the Government has agreed there will be increased provision for social housing acquisitions and the Department will fund local authorities to acquire up to 1,500 social homes. This represents an increase of 1,300 on the original target for acquisitions. Local authorities have delegated sanction to deliver the 1,300 additional acquisitions, subject to those acquisitions being within the acquisition cost guidelines issued by the Department.

One of the priority categories was to address homelessness, which includes the acquisition of a property to exit a household from emergency accommodation or the acquisition of a property that would prevent a household from becoming homeless. The Minister specifically requested that local authorities be proactive in acquiring properties where a HAP or RAS tenant had received a notice of termination due to the landlord’s intention to sell the property. A circular also issued to local authorities last week, setting out these revised arrangements.

Turning to the specific point the Deputy raised, the practical operation of transfer lists is a matter for each local authority to manage on the basis of its own scheme for letting priorities. The making of such schemes is a reserved function of the local authority and, as such, is a matter for the elected members in each county and city council. In instances of inter-authority social housing acquisitions, local authorities collaborate with each other on a case-by-case basis.

The City and County Management Association, CCMA, has advised that local authorities will collaborate on situations where a local authority tenant is in a HAP tenancy in another local authority area. The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage will work closely with the CCMA on these measures.

If the Deputy encounters particular instances, I suggest that he initially make contact with the respective local authorities and then bring them to the attention of the Department. The ultimate objective here is to keep people in their homes. For many of the people in question, the property they are living in under HAP has been their home for many years. This is a matter of which I am conscious every day.

Deputy Dessie Ellis

There is an issue in respect of the crossover between local authorities. It has not been resolved between Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council in spite of a lot of co-operation. Plans are in place, however, and the councils are considering the matter. One such plan may be to compile a list of all landlords seeking to sell in Fingal and for Dublin City Council to do the same and a swap to be made, in order that properties go into Dublin City Council, for example. It is possible that is being considered.

Another matter of concern is that different local authorities have different rules, as the Minister of State noted. There is a need to be more specific in this regard. In Dublin City Council, a family with two boys or two girls living in a three-bedroom house would normally be entitled only to a two-bedroom house. There is a need for flexibility. To say the family cannot purchase that house because it has three bedrooms and they have an entitlement only to two bedrooms is not acceptable. That should be conveyed to local authorities across the board.

There is a need for flexibility on this issue. It is arising between Fingal County Council and Dublin City Council. I have been contacted by people in Fingal, near where I am based, who want to buy but they are tenants of Dublin City Council in the Fingal area and vice versa. That is the point of this. The tenant in situ scheme is working. It is a little slow but it is starting to ramp up and that is very positive. I have dealt with several such cases. It is a massive incentive for families to avail of the scheme. The dividends for those families are significant. I wish to concentrate on the specific issue of the crossover and ensure it is given consideration by the Minister of State, his Department and the various local authorities.

Deputy Kieran O'Donnell

I thank the Deputy, who has made practical points that I take wholeheartedly. If people in a property have young children who are in a local school, the property in question is their home. That is the logic of it. The Deputy referred to Dublin City Council and Fingal County Council. A body of work is under way there. Obviously, the Deputy will allow the councils to do that work and see how it develops. The tenant in situ scheme was brought in for that specific purpose - to cater for people who are on HAP or RAS. As the Deputy is aware, in areas where local authorities are very close to one another, such as in Dublin, people could end up renting just inside the boundary of another local authority. I hope the two local authorities in question will come to an understanding. I ask the Deputy to provide feedback on that. We are interacting with all the local authorities.

Housing for All is a clear priority for the Government and we are committed to delivering on targets across all pathways of the plan. The provision of individual local authority targets and the development of housing delivery action plans to address delivery through the next five years have introduced a more strategic approach to housing delivery. Local authorities are working closely with approved housing body, AHB, delivery partners and the Land Development Agency to develop a pipeline to ensure we meet these targets. The increase of up to 1,500 social housing acquisitions will allow local authorities to focus on properties where a tenant in receipt of social housing supports, namely, HAP or RAS, has received a notice of termination. Local authorities will have to adopt a common-sense approach with regard to where people are living and the configuration of the household, taking into account factors such as where the children are in school. Local authorities have delegated sanction to deliver the 1,300 additional acquisitions, subject to the acquisition cost guidelines, and will collaborate with each other as inter-authority acquisitions cases arise. The Department has worked closely with the CCMA to prioritise this initiative with a focus on the prevention of homelessness and will continue to work closely with local authorities, the CCMA, and all key stakeholders to ensure the success of this programme.

If issues arise, I ask the Deputy to come to us with them. We are here to assist.

Cuireadh an Dáil ar athló ar 11.05 p.m. go dtí 9.12 a.m., Dé Céadaoin, an 22 Márta 2023.

The Dáil adjourned at 11.05 p.m. until 9.12 a.m. on Wednesday, 22 March 2023.