Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 May 2022
262. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the extent to which a review of school accommodation continues with a view to achieving the highest possible standard of education at primary and second-level throughout the country and in County Kildare in line with modern requirements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24079/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a Geographical Information System (GIS) and statistical modelling 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 my Department's projections of school place requirements.
Having considered the projected requirements, my Department then makes an assessment of the existing school accommodation capacity within that particular area and its ability to meet any increased demand. A national inventory of school capacity, which utilises information from schools’ annual returns, is maintained by my Department and is supplemented by data on enrolment trends at individual schools as well as other indicators of potential capacity. My Department’s GIS is a critical tool in assessing such data in support of strategic planning for school accommodation needs. The GIS facilitates the geospatial analysis of capacity relative to school place demand and the customised reporting of data at local, regional and national levels.
As the Deputy may be aware, at primary level national enrolments peaked in 2018 and are projected to decline by over 120,000 by 2033, as outlined in my Department’s statistical report of November 2021: “Projections of full-time enrolment Primary and Second Level 2021-2040”. In that same report it can be seen that post primary enrolments are forecast to peak in 2024 and then decline thereafter to 2039, by circa 90,000 places. Although these projections do not account for arriving Ukrainian students, it is clear that at a national level there will be increasing levels of capacity within our existing schools infrastructure. While local and regional variations will, of course, be relevant, the use of such capacity - to meet the needs of Ukrainian children in the first instance - will be an important element in my Department’s strategic planning for capital investment in our schools. In this regard, a capacity survey at post-primary level has indicated available capacity of the order of 20,000 school places. There is also very good capacity at primary level given the downward trend in demographics and this will be analysed at an individual school and town/area level when a capacity survey of special schools and primary schools is undertaken at end May/early June 2022.
Where the geospatial assessment of demand and capacity in an area indicates that additional provision is required my Department considers the options of extending the capacity of a school or schools, or of providing a new school or schools. The timing and duration of the accommodation need is also considered in determining the optimum accommodation solution – for example a short-term accommodation requirement does not require a long-term accommodation solution.
Separately, where a school considers that it has a requirement for additional mainstream or special education needs accommodation it is open to the school authority to apply under my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme. The assessment of such applications is also informed by a geospatial analysis of demand and capacity in the relevant area, and a consideration of the timing and duration of the need. The level of capacity in an individual school or in neighbouring schools is relevant when decisions on enrolment are being made. It is important that capacity across a town or area is fully utilised before additional accommodation is approved.
While the main focus of resources over the last decade has been on provision of additional capacity to cater for increasing demographics, under Project Ireland 2040 there will be an increasing focus on the upgrade and refurbishment of the existing school stock. My Department 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 level with sustainable energy awards for excellence in Design and Specification. My Department’s Technical Guidance Documents set the benchmark for sustainable design in school buildings with a clear focus on energy efficiency and they are based on solid energy research projects. 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 performance than required by the current Building Regulations, along with 10% of primary energy provided via photovoltaics and infrastructure provision for electric vehicle charging.
My Department and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications established a jointly funded pathfinder programme with the SEAI, testing and demonstrating energy efficiency and decarbonisation retrofit approaches. This pathfinder is a great example of collaboration ensuring the deployment of new design approaches and technologies are introduced to the educational environment on an evidence based approach. This Pathfinder programme is paving the way for, and informing, a much larger national schools’ programme for the energy retrofit of schools built prior to 2008 as included in the National Development 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 which will be founded on a solid evidence base that has proven the robustness and scalability of renewable solutions within the schools’ sector. The longer-term outcome of the pathfinder will be to create an accurate and scalable model for energy efficient retrofits of schools across Ireland. The deep energy retrofit programme for schools built prior to 2008 is due to be rolled out as included in the National Development Plan.
My Department has a large pipeline of projects for delivery under the school building programme to cater for current and future educational demands. The pipeline of projects is kept under continual review to ensure alignment with Project Ireland 2040 objectives. Good progress continues to be made with the rollout of projects, and the current status of projects being delivered is listed in tabular format, on a county by county basis, on the Department’s website at www.gov.ie and is regularly updated.
