Written Answers Nos. 681-700
681. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Education if she will confirm the accommodation plan for a school (details supplied) for the school year 2024/2025 i.e. where the school will be located; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38547/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is in the process of evaluating the accommodation requirements for the school referred to by the Deputy for the 2024/25 academic year. Once completed my Department will be in contact with the school, through its Patron Body to advise in relation to same.
682. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education if she has received an interim and or draft report in respect of the review of the school transport scheme; the date on which she expects to receive the review and the steps she will take following receipt of the review; if she will provide the costs to date associated with the review; and if external parties were engaged to conduct the review. [38559/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
There was an increase of 21% in tickets issued to eligible students and an increase of 38% in tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.
In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Already over 132,000 tickets have issued for the 2023/2024 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the same time last year. This number of tickets has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year.
A review of the School Transport Scheme is nearing completion. The review is being conducted with a view to examining the current scheme, its broader effectiveness and sustainability, and to ensure that it serves students and their families adequately.
The final report of the review will include recommendations on the future operation of the Department’s School Transport Scheme. Once approved by Government, it is planned that the review will be published.
683. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Education if her Department has taken advice in respect of the use of artificial intelligence (A.I.) within her Department; if any section of her Department currently makes use of A.I., and if she will outline the purposes it is utilised for and costs associated with same; and if she has consulted with any consultancy firms in respect of the use of A.I. [38563/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraIn accordance with “AI – Here for Good”, the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy for Ireland, my Department is investigating the potential for AI to assist in improving the delivery of customer services. A proof of concept to examine if AI technologies can support Departmental staff in responding to customer queries is currently in progress. The proof of concept focuses on the potential for using AI technologies to analyse large volumes of publicly available information. An external service provider has assisted with this at no cost to the Department.
My Department and its officials do not presently use ChatGPT or any other form of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate official text and no such software is installed on my official's devices.
684. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education to examine an issue with a school bus ticket (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38586/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
There has been an increase of 21% in tickets issued to eligible students and an increase of 38% in tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.
In addition, school transport scheme services have been provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
The purpose of the Department's School Transport Scheme is, having regard to available resources, to support the transport to and from school of children who reside remote from their nearest school.
The closing date for new applications for the 2023/2024 school year was Friday 28th April 2023. The closing date for payment/entering medical details for tickets for the 2023/2024 school year was Friday 9th June 2023.
Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by my Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport may apply for transport on a concessionary basis in accordance with the terms of the Post Primary School Transport Scheme and subject to the following conditions:
• an application is made by the deadline date
• there is an existing service in place
• there is spare capacity on the service;
• routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for children travelling on a concessionary basis;
The availability of concessionary transport may vary from year to year and cannot be guaranteed for the duration of a child’s post primary school education cycle. Where the number of applications for transport on a concessionary basis exceeds the number of seats available, Bus Éireann will determine the allocation of the tickets using an agreed selection process.
Bus Éireann has advised that these pupils are not eligible for mainstream transport as they are attending their second nearest primary school. They were unsuccessful in obtaining concessionary seats for the 2023/24 school year and the existing service is currently operating to capacity.
685. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education the reason his Department will not give a school (details supplied) in County Mayo permission to proceed to construction for a modular classroom in view of the numbers in this school and the fact that this school will have not adequate accommodation for its pupils in September and also in view of the fact that this matter has been ongoing for at least a year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38587/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am pleased to advise the Deputy that approval under the Additional School Accommodation scheme has issued to the school in question for the provision of one general classroom and one Special Education Tuition room under my Department's Modular Accommodation Framework.
The School Authority has overall responsibility for delivery of the project. My Department is fully aware of the urgency in respect of same and will be working with the school on overall project delivery and timelines.
686. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to requests from school management (details supplied) regarding the SNA allocation for the school; if a timeline could be provided for the review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38590/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:
Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.
For 2023, the spend by my department on special education has been substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.
This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the department’s total allocation for 2023.
This includes funding to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).
In 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs.
For the first time ever there will be over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 SNAs. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.
The NCSE has the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews. The department does not have a role in making individual school determinations.
SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs into mainstream education, special classes and special schools ensuring that these students can access education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.
SNAs are allocated to schools as a school based resource and not to individual children. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual principal/Board of Management of the school. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated.
It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
The NCSE have published the SNA allocations for the 2023/24 school year. For ease of reference these allocations are broken down by school type and are available on the NCSE's website at: www.ncse.ie/set-hours-and-sna-allocations
The Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations and the school should liaise with the NCSE directly in the event that additional supports are required.
The school can apply to the NCSE for a review of its SNA allocation if it is insufficient to meet the needs of its students. Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website: www.ncse.ie/application-for-sna-exceptional-review.
All schools have the contact details of their local SENO, and the SENO is available to offer assistance and advice to the school. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on: www.ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list
The NCSE manages the exceptional review process and handles each case individually. Some review requests can be concluded as an office based exercise, whilst others require a school to be visited in order to observe the current deployment of SNA support in the school setting.
The time frame for concluding a review can vary depending on the school context or the nature of the information provided.
Following the outcome of the review, the NCSE can make the local SENO available to the school to discuss their current deployment of SNA supports in the school and to put these supports to the best advantage of the students. NCSE in-school support is also available to schools to offer further guidance and support.
As your query refers to the allocation of supports to a particular school, I will arrange to have it referred to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply.
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.
687. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Education if she has spoken formally with the United States Secretary for Education (details supplied) in the past 12 months. [38600/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI had a very positive and constructive bilateral engagement with US Secretary of State for Education Miguel Cardona at the Ministerial meeting of the 38 members of the OECD Education Policy Committee (EDPC) in Paris last December. It was an opportunity to reaffirm Ireland’s deep connection with the United States and discuss a range of issues across education, including equity and inclusion, post-pandemic recovery within the education sector and wellbeing.
688. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Education when refurbishment works at a school (details supplied) will be completed; and the estimated cost for these works. [38601/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school to which the Deputy refers was approved funding for a large scale major building project. The project is devolved for delivery to Cavan & Monaghan Educational Training Board (CMETB).
I am pleased to advise that this project is at stage 4 of the architectural process. Works commenced onsite in June 2023 and the Project Executive expect it to be practically completed towards the end of 2024. CMETB will continue to engage and communicate directly with the school community in relation to the progression of the project.
The cost of the project will not be finalised until the project reaches final account after practical completion.
689. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education if she will request a review of a current home school community liaison scheme allocation (detail supplied); if this issue can be urgently addressed; if her Department can engage with the school management directly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38634/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra690. Deputy Steven Matthews asked the Minister for Education the position regarding the review of the home school liaison system initiated by her Department; the timeline for its completion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38635/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 689 and 690 together.
Currently, all DEIS Urban Primary and Post Primary schools are included in the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL), which serves 687 DEIS schools. The scheme is delivered by 528 full-time HSCL Coordinators, who are teachers in these schools and assigned to HSCL duties either in individual schools or in clusters of schools, catering for approximately 207,000 pupils.
The HSCL scheme seeks to promote partnership between parents, teachers and community family support services, with a view to supporting improved attendance, participation and retention.
The HSCL scheme is one of a suite of initiatives funded by my Department as part of the overall DEIS programme and Tusla Education Support Services (TESS) manages the scheme on behalf of my Department.
Tusla Education Support Service’s (TESS) Integrated Service Manager, assigned to the area is available to assist the school in question. TESS will continue to provide support to help ensure that the allocated HSCL resource is utilised to its fullest potential in order to best support those who are most in need.
My Department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. It also recognises that we need to target resources to those schools who need them most. To support this work my Department have invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS. The OECD are engaging with a range of relevant stakeholders to inform the review process as well as drawing on international examples. The OECD estimates that the review will be completed in Q2 2024.
The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my Department which will look at reviewing individual resources and allocation approaches. This work will involve consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders. It will also seek to ensure that schools are supported to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.
Demographic changes to schools will be considered within this work underpinning my commitment to an effective and responsive resource allocation strategy. Following the National Census held in April 2022, it is envisaged that an updated HP Deprivation Index will be generated by Pobal and will be available in Q4 of 2023. My Department will engage with Pobal in relation to this process. The updated HP Deprivation Index, when available, will be considered by my Department to help inform future resource allocation to tackle educational disadvantage.
691. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Education the reason a person (details supplied) cannot get a school place to start school this year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38637/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, provides for the entitlement of every child residing in the State to a certain minimum education. The Act defines a child as being a person resident in the State who has reached the age of 6 years and who – (a) has not reached the age of 16 years, or (b) has not completed 3 years of post-primary education, whichever occurs later, but shall not include a person who has reached the age of 18 years.
Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 as inserted by section 7 of the Education (Admissions to schools) Act 2018 provides for an appeal, where a board of management, or a person acting on behalf of the board of management (normally the school principal) refuses to admit a student to a school, suspends a student for not less than 20 days or permanently excludes a student.
The Senior Education Welfare Officer for this area will make direct contact with the young person's parent(s)/guardian(s) to offer support and advise of other educational options and supports available in the area which are specifically designed for young person's who are returning to education or where there may have been gaps in education.
692. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education to examine a staffing issue in a preschool for children (details supplied) with additional needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38643/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Purpose of the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is to provide a compensatory educational service for children who, for a number of reasons, are unable to attend school. The scheme also provides a compensatory educational service for children with special educational needs seeking an educational placement for whom such a placement is not available. Likewise, provision is made for early educational intervention for children aged from 2.5 years to 3 years with autism.
Home Tuition is provided as an interim measure only for children for whom a placement in a recognised school is sought but is not available and should not be regarded as an optional alternative to a school placement. Ensuring that every child with special educational needs gets a suitable education is a priority for the Department of Education.
Where parents of children, for whom home tuition has been approved, have sought alternative measures to be put in place for the tuition, my Department has an arrangement with certain private pre-school providers to provide group tuition to children in a class type setting. Each pre-school provider is selected by the parents. JONIX is one such pre-school provider.
In recognition of the demand for group arrangements for Home Tuition, my Department now advises all parents of eligible children of the option to enter into a group arrangement with other parents of children for whom home tuition has been sanctioned. My Department has no contract with these pre-school providers. The contract is essentially between the parents and the relevant provider. My Department does not provide capital funding to private pre-school providers nor does my Department have any role in providing staff to these facilities.
Nonetheless, my Department does state in the terms and conditions issued to pre-school providers the following:
“The facility will operate at least 1 class on the basis of 6 children per class with 1 qualified teacher and 3 assistants who must be registered and vetted with the Teaching Council of Ireland. A pro-rata reduction will be applied both in terms of the number of tutors/assistants and the payments where the class is not operating at full capacity. In this regard, every effort should be made to have classes operating with the full complement of both students and registered tutors/assistants. The minimum number of children required to operate a class is 3.”
Consent of the parent/guardian of the eligible child must be provided to allow the child attend the facility and to allow the facility to receive the payments which would normally paid to the parent under the Scheme. These arrangements allow parents to forego the home based provision in favour of the provision in a classroom setting which is supported by a direct payment facility.
Parents wishing to enter into such an arrangement must notify my Department in advance for approval. Funding is provided to these pre-school providers on the basis that they abide by the rules established by the Special Education Section of the Department of Education, as set out in Circular 0024/2022 which can be found here at www.gov.ie/en/circular/67f37-home-tuition-grant-scheme-20232024-special-education-component/.
To date no application for home tuition has been received for the child referenced by the Deputy for the 2023/24 Home Tuition Grant Scheme.
693. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Minister for Education if she is aware of the delay in opening a new ASD unit in a school (details supplied) whereby the unit is not opening in time for the start of the school year; the reason these delays in construction have occurred; the measures that are in place to ensure the new unit opens on the new date of 18 September 2023 as planned; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38644/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy is aware, my Department issued approval under the Additional School Accommodation scheme for provision of two special education needs classes. The project is devolved to the school authority and is being delivered under the Department’s SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme.
This programme provides project management supports to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and helps to ease the administrative workload for individual schools in relation to the management and delivery of the project. This entails the use of the Department's frameworks for the design and construction of the project which mitigates procurement and other risks while expediting delivery.
The overall construction sector environment is nevertheless challenging. The Department and the Project Management company are doing everything possible to ensure that the project is delivered as quickly as possible. My Department is fully aware of the urgency in respect of this important project and will work closely with the school authority and its project manager in order to ensure the project is completed as soon as possible and that the school is updated directly on all progress and timelines.
694. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Education for an update on a matter (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38650/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am pleased to inform the Deputy that the school in question was approved funding under My Department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme to provide 9 main stream classrooms, 2 science labs, 1 prep area and an art and crafts room.
The delivery of this project was devolved to the school, who were given approval to progress to stage 2A detailed design stage and my Department officials are currently awaiting the stage 2A report for review.
As the project is at an early design stage, an estimated timeline for completion is not available at this time.
695. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Education if she can confirm receipt of a late application for school transport from a student (details supplied); if this application can be considered in light of the student’s special needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38654/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
There was an increase of 21% in tickets issued to eligible students and an increase of 38% in tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.
In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Children are eligible for transport at primary level where they reside not less than 3.2 kilometres from and are attending their nearest national school, and at post primary level where they reside not less than 4.8 kilometres from and are attending their nearest post primary school/education centre as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are eligible for school transport and who have completed the application process on time will be accommodated on school transport services where such services are in operation.
Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
Because of the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible children and the priority of providing places for eligible children, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places, in these cases Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using an agreed selection process.
Bus Éireann has advised that the pupil referred to by the Deputy has submitted a late application for a mainstream service for the 23/24 school year. The Local Bus Éireann office have not yet issued all tickets for the service. Bus Éireann are continuing to schedule pupils on services as quickly as possible.
Under the terms of my Department's School Transport Scheme for Children with Special Educational Needs, children are eligible for transport where they are attending the nearest recognised school that is or can be resourced to meet their special educational needs.
The National Council for Special Education through its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) acts in an advisory role to the Department on the suitability of placements for children with special educational needs.
School Transport Section of my Department has not received an application for the child referred to by the Deputy under the terms of the school transport scheme.
If parents wish to make an application for school transport under the scheme for children with Special Educational Needs, parents can contact their school principal who will assist in making an application for school transport to the SENO that is affiliated with the school the child is attending. Further information on the School Transport Scheme can be found at: gov.ie/schooltransport
696. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Education to outline the situation regarding the provision of school transport for a pupil (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38656/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe School Transport Scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the 2022/2023 school year, over 149,000 children, including over 18,000 children with special educational needs, were transported on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country.
There was an increase of 21% in tickets issued to eligible students and an increase of 38% in tickets issued on a concessionary basis in the 2022/23 school year compared to the 2021/22 school year.
In addition, school transport scheme services were provided for over 5,400 children who have arrived to Ireland from Ukraine.
The total cost of the scheme in 2022 was €338.9m.
Already over 132,000 tickets have issued for the 2023/2024 school year which is an increase of 12% when compared with the same time last year. This number of tickets has already exceeded the total number of tickets issued in the 2022/23 school year.
Under the terms of the Primary School Transport Scheme, children are eligible for transport where they reside not less than 3.2 kms from and are attending their nearest primary school as determined by the Department/Bus Éireann, having regard to ethos and language.
Children who are not eligible for school transport, but who completed the application process on time, will be considered for spare seats that may exist after eligible children have been facilitated; such seats are referred to as concessionary seats.
Due to the nature of concessionary transport for non-eligible children and the priority of providing places for eligible children, there may be an excess of demand over supply for concessionary places, in these cases Bus Éireann will allocate tickets for spare seats using a random selection process.
Under the terms of the scheme, the availability of concessionary transport varies from year to year based on the capacity on the buses running on all of the various routes and the number of eligible children accommodated on each route.
Routes will not be extended or altered, additional vehicles will not be introduced, nor will larger vehicles or extra trips using existing vehicles be provided to cater for children travelling on a concessionary basis. Home pick-up is not a feature of the School Transport Scheme.
Bus Éireann have advised that, the pupil to whom the Deputy refers, is not eligible for school transport as they do not meet the distance criteria of 3.2kms. The family reside 1.4kms from home to the school of attendance. The distance from home to the pick-up point is 1.9kms as the family reside closer to the school than the pickup point. The family reside on the opposite side of the school to where the service operates. A concessionary ticket has issued to the family for the 2023/24 school year.
697. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Education the percentage of exemption from Irish studies applications approved by second-level schools in 2022, that were subsequently reversed or overturned by her Department; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38659/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra698. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Education the percentage of appeals to her Department for exemption from Irish studies that were not accepted by second-level schools, that were successful in 2022; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38660/23]
Amharc ar fhreagra699. Deputy Michael Lowry asked the Minister for Education what methodology her Department employs to gather data on the approvals and rejections of applications for exemption from Irish studies in post-primary education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38661/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 697, 698 and 699 together.
In certain exceptional circumstances, a post-primary student may be granted an exemption from studying Irish. School management holds the authority to grant an exemption.
Exemption eligibility is outlined in Circular 0055/2022 (Post Primary)
Under the terms of this circular, where an application for exemption from the study of Irish is refused, an applicant can appeal the school’s decision to the Irish Exemptions Appeals Committee (IEAC). The IEAC will comprise three persons who shall be selected from a panel of persons established and maintained by the Minister for Education.
The IEAC will make a decision on whether the exemption should be granted or not, inform the school of the decision and require the school to give effect to their decision. In making a decision the IEAC will consider the decision of the school and the grounds given for refusing the application, the criteria set out in the Circular and any supporting documentation that was available to the school, contained in the Student Support Plan(s) and any supplementary information provided to the school by the applicant.
Of the appeals held to date, under the terms of Circular 0055/2022, the IEAC has, in each case, upheld the decision of the school not to grant an exemption. Therefore 0% of the appeals were successful.
The IEAC does not, and has not, considered the reversal or overturning of exemptions granted by schools.
As set out in the Circular, schools must record details of the exemptions granted on the Post-Primary Online Database (PPOD). The Department does not ask schools to provide data on the number of applications for exemptions from the study of Irish that are received or refused.
700. Deputy Martin Browne asked the Minister for Education the measures in place to provide temporary accommodation for students at a school (details supplied), in light of the delay in installing temporary structures due to a further delay in developing new classrooms; to provide a full synopsis of the reasons for both delays; to provide a detailed response on the measures being taken to address this with haste; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38707/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that the school, in question, received approval for additional accommodation under my Departments SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme for the provision of 3 x Junior SEN classrooms and 2 x Moderate classrooms.
This main modular pre-cast project is currently in design, all statutory approvals inlcuding planning permission will be needed to deliver this accommodation and as a result the timeline for delivery is extended. As an interim measure, the school will be provided with modular units which are being relocated from an existing school site. This element of the project is progressing well and works have commenced on site.
The School Authority has devolved responsibility for delivery of this project.
