Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 October 2022
408. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education if his attention has been drawn to the need to upgrade and retrofit the old part of a school building (details supplied); if the building can be assessed to establish the level of work required; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35391/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, the National Development Plan 2021-2030 provides capital funding of over €4.4bn for investment in school infrastructure during the period 2021 to 2025. My Department’s priority in recent years has been providing additional capacity to provide the required school places and this continues to be the case.
However, under the NDP allocation for the School Education sector there will be provision for a number of key initiatives, including a strengthened focus on refurbishment and modernisation of existing school stock as part of underpinning the transition of the school system to an era of Net Zero carbon by 2050.
My Department and the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications have established a jointly funded pathfinder programme with the SEAI, testing and demonstrating energy efficiency and decarbonisation retrofit approaches. This Pathfinder programme is paving the way for, and informing, a much larger national programme for the energy retrofit of schools built prior to 2008 as included in the National Development Plan.
Appropriate retrofit and modernisation works for all such schools, including for the school in question, will be considered in this context in due course.
