Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 February 2024
297. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Education how many of the 58 schools which received additional budget for their school building programmes have begun construction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7821/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra298. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Education how many of the 58 schools which received additional budget for their school building programmes are still awaiting sign-off from the Department on final design before they can begin construction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7822/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra299. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Education how many of the 58 schools which received additional budget for their school building programmes have had to re-tender for their project due to delays in obtaining the brief acceptance letter; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7823/24]
Amharc ar fhreagra300. Deputy Emer Higgins asked the Minister for Education how many of the 58 schools which received additional budget for their school building programmes are in danger of losing their approved contractor due to delays in obtaining sign off from the Department to proceed to construction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7824/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 297 to 300, inclusive, together.
Since 2020, my Department has invested in the region of €4.3 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 800 school building projects with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes 33 new school buildings.
These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.2bn.
There are also approximately 90 projects currently at the tender stage including a further 28 new school buildings. All of these new school buildings are flagship projects in their area and transform the education infrastructure for those school communities.
This is a record level of investment in our schools and highlights the Government’s very strong track record of delivery in providing additional capacity and modern facilities for our school communities.
The key drivers of capital investment in the school's sector include:
• demographic growth, particularly at post primary level
• increased demand for special educational needs provision
• alignment of school place provision with new housing development
• climate action objectives including deep energy retrofit.?
My Department is very appreciative of the strong support provided by Government for our education budget.? As part of the supplementary budget in 2023, €405m additional capital funding was provided for the school building programme. This helped to alleviate capital funding pressures that arose in 2023. These pressures reflect the strong delivery by my Department of school building projects – including to support additional school places aligned with housing growth, special education provision and also the accommodation of students from Ukraine in the school system. This is a very significant roll-out of the school building programme that is being delivered in a challenging construction sector environment. My Department’s overall capital outturn for 2023 was €1.264 billion.
My Department has always operated a tightly prioritised approach to the school building programme, that is primarily focused on the delivery of additional capacity where required. This will continue to be the case.
Following agreement secured in April 2023, the 58 paused projects referenced by the Deputy were progressed for delivery on a controlled and phased basis. To date, it has not been necessary to re-tender any of the 58 paused projects. 29 of the paused projects were paused prior to entering construction (the others were paused prior to tender). Of the 29 paused prior to construction, 27 are now in construction. The Department continues to work with delivery partners and Design Teams to progress projects through the pipeline in a timely manner and within the context of overall budgetary parameters.
The current status of all projects and completions 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.
