Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2023
415. Deputy Ciarán Cannon asked the Minister for Education her plans to address the serious health, safety and well-being issues that are arising at a school (details supplied) as a result of an inadequate and outdated school building. [4020/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would like to inform the Deputy that the Department has received substantial documentation from the school in question regarding its current accommodation. This documentation is currently being reviewed and both the long-term and short-term accommodation needs at the school are being considered. The Department will be in contact with the school in this respect in due course, and in particular regarding any urgent issues of an emergency works nature.
In relation to the wider issues, 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 ] 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 is intended to allow us to move forward with certainty on modernising our school infrastructure with a real focus on sustainability, for school communities across Ireland. The strengthened focus on refurbishment of existing school stock will have different strands and will include a deep-energy retrofit programme in support of our 2030 and 2050 Climate Action Goals.
