Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 22 March 2022
509. Deputy Patrick O'Donovan asked the Minister for Education the status of an application for additional accommodation by a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14455/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm that my Department received a number of applications over the past few years from the school authority in question. I am pleased to advise the Deputy that my Department approved funding for the provision of permanent additional accommodation for mainstream and specialist rooms in 2019 at the school and the project is currently at tender stage.
The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and Special Education Needs (SEN) accommodation 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 a new SEN class has been sanctioned by the NCSE, and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes.
The main focus of resources over the last decade and for the coming period is on provision of additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics particularly at post-primary level and for special education needs provision. The Deputy will appreciate that the immediate priority of my Department is providing new and replacement school places each year, to ensure that every child has a school place.
However, the second half of the National Development Plan period will see an increasing focus on the upgrade and refurbishment of the existing school stock. This will include a PE Hall build and modernisation programme to ensure that students in all post-primary schools have access to appropriate facilities to support PE provision.
The school submitted an ASA application in 2020 for a PE hall and funding for this application was refused. The school has recently appealed this decision and once this appeal has been assessed, the school authority will be contacted directly with a decision.
