Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 November 2021
148. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education if she will report on the school building programme including the number of schools without permanent sites, without permanent buildings and also without even a temporary site; her plans to address these very serious shortfalls; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57331/21]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department has a significant existing pipeline of projects to be delivered over the coming years to meet capacity needs managed under the Large Scale Capital Programme and the Additional School Accommodation Scheme.
This involves in excess of 1,200 school building projects across the various stages of planning, design, tender and construction. The current status of these projects being delivered is listed on a county by county basis on the Department of Education's website at www.gov.ie and is updated on a monthly basis.
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.
This significant investment allows us to move forward with certainty on our ambitious plans and deliver high quality building projects, with a real focus on sustainability, for school communities across Ireland.
The specific information requested by the Deputy relating to sites is not readily available in the format requested. However, the information available is being collated by my Department and will be made available to the Deputy shortly.
