Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 April 2017
90. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills if funding was provided for in the capital plan to provide an additional 19,000 primary school places; the funding spent to date; the number of places made available under the capital plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18742/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra91. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding provided for in the capital plan to provide an additional 43,000 post-primary school places; the funding spent to date; the number of places made available under the capital plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18743/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra92. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding provided for in the capital plan to replace existing prefab accommodation with permanent classrooms; the funding spent to date; the number of prefab classrooms replaced; the number yet to be replaced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18744/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra93. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding provided for in the capital plan for ongoing refurbishment projects across the school system; the funding spent to date; the projects which have been and will be funded by this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18745/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra97. Deputy Dara Calleary asked the Minister for Education and Skills the funding provided for in the capital plan for energy efficient schools; the funding spent to date; the number of schools that have and will receive funding respectively under the capital plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18749/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 90 to 93, inclusive and 97 together.
In September 2015 the Building on Recovery: Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2016-2021 (The Capital Plan) was announced. The Plan provides €3.8 billion in direct Exchequer funding for investment in primary, second and third level education facilities, combining the upgrade and extension of existing educational infrastructure and the provision of new buildings.
The Capital Plan follows on from the Infrastructure and Capital Investment 2012-2016 Medium Term Exchequer Framework. The Deputy will appreciate that several large scale projects and various schemes signalled during the period of the Medium Term Exchequer Framework are on-going and will only be finalised during the early years of the current Plan.
In November 2015 310 large scale school building projects were announced by my Department. With the exception of 14 new schools, the remainder are in respect of large scale extensions and/or refurbishment projects. The combination of new schools and large scale extensions will deliver the additional 62,000 school places (43,000 Post-Primary school places plus 19,000 Primary school places) over the lifetime of the Plan.
The expectation is that the completion of large scale projects on an annual basis over the lifetime of the Plan will be consistent with results from both 2015 and 2016 when 50 large scale projects were completed each year. In 2015 a total of 27 new schools and 23 large scale extensions were completed while in 2016 a total of 30 new schools and 20 large scale extensions were completed. The 2015 completions provided 13,405 additional permanent school places while the 2016 completions provided 15,290 permanent school places. Although this level of provision is expected to reduce in the latter years of the Plan due to a lesser demand at Primary level for large scale projects to deliver additional school places and a greater emphasis on large scale refurbishment projects, the target provision of 62,000 additional school places can still be achieved. It should be noted that the announcement in November 2015 also alluded to the prospect of requiring new schools post 2018, a prospect that is kept under constant review.
Expenditure on Large Scale Projects in 2016 amounted to just over €334m or 63% of the overall capital spend under Subhead D.3 – Building, Equipment and Furnishing of Primary and Post-Primary Schools. When combined with the Additional Accommodation Scheme expenditure reaches almost 80% of the 2016 spend under this subhead. This percentage level of expenditure on Large Scale Projects is projected to continue throughout the lifetime of the Capital Plan.
All new schools and extensions are constructed in accordance with my Department’s design and technical guidance documents. These documents include guidance on best practice in achieving energy efficient schools. All new school buildings must achieve a top A3 band Building Energy Rating (BER). The costs associated with providing such a high level of energy efficiency in new school buildings form part of the building works contract and as such are not calculated in isolation.
Over the lifetime of the Capital Plan it is intended to replace all purchased temporary accommodation with permanent accommodation, where the need is established. To enable this development, my Department will be carrying out an assessment of the number of prefabs being used to deliver the curriculum. This will also determine whether or not individual prefabs need to be replaced in the context of the long-term accommodation needs of each individual school. When completed, this assessment will quantify the number of prefabs to be replaced.
A mid-term review of the capital plan is currently underway with a final report and recommendations to be presented to Government in the third quarter of 2017. My Department provided a detailed submission in early March to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform reflecting the on-going capital requirements of the education sector.
