Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
475. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin asked the Minister for Education to outline her plans to increase the number of junior, senior and secondary school places available in Lucan, County Dublin, in the coming years to meet growing demand. [36534/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder Project Ireland 2040, the education sector will receive a total of approximately €4.4 billion capital investment over the period 2021-2025. 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. This investment will build on the good progress being made on adding capacity to cater for demographic changes and provision for children with special educational needs. This investment will also facilitate an increased focus on the modernisation of existing school stock and help transition the school system for an era of net zero carbon by 2050.
My Department has a large pipeline of projects for delivery under the school building programme. The main elements of this pipeline currently involve in excess of 1,300 school building projects for delivery under the Department’s Large Scale and Additional Accommodation Scheme. These projects are currently in progress across the various stages of planning, design, tender and construction. Most of which are expected to be either under construction or completed in the period up to 2025.
In Lucan, there are currently 16 school building projects in progress across the various stages of planning, design, tender and construction under the Large Scale and Additional School Accommodation Scheme. In addition there are 6 projects to be delivered under our Modular Framework. Most of these projects are expected to be either under construction or completed in the period 2023 to 2025.
The current status of all projects are listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie. and is updated on a regular basis to reflect their progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
This also lists all school building projects completed under the Large Scale and Additional Accommodation Scheme, in county order, from 2010 to date.
I also wish to advise the Deputy that in order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country, including Lucan, will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
Major new residential developments in a school planning area have the potential to alter demand in that area. In that regard, as part of the annual demographic exercises, my Department engages with each of the local authorities to obtain the up-to-date information on significant new residential development in each area. This is necessary to ensure that schools infrastructure planning is keeping pace with demographic changes.
Where demographic data indicates that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may, be provided through:
• Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,
• Extending the capacity of a school or schools,
• Provision of a new school or schools.
The requirement for additional school places in the Lucan school planning areas is kept under on-going review. Additionally, my Department will continue to liaise with the local Council in respect of its review of the Development Plan with a view to identifying any potential long-term school accommodation requirements. New schools are established by my Department on the basis of identified demographic demand in an area, and only after consideration of the capacity of existing schools to absorb the expected school place demand.
