Written Answers Nos. 1-64
63. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Education for an update on delivery of the new school build for a school (details supplied), and the planned building extensions for other schools in Greystones. [16426/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe new 1,000 pupil post-primary school building for Greystones Community College is a key priority for my Department. It is being delivered under the Department's Design and Build Programme and will include 4 special educational needs (SEN) classrooms. The project is at tender stage and is part of a bundle of projects for 10 new schools across 7 sites all of which are flagship projects and will transform the education facilities for these school communities. This bundle of projects involve scale and complexity and will deliver 82,000 sq metres of new school accommodation. Greystones Community College is a top priority for delivery.
A major building project for Coláiste Chraobh Abhann is also part of my Department’s delivery pipeline. This project is devolved to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) for delivery as part of a bundle of other school building projects. The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural process. Wicklow County Council has granted planning permission and the NDFA’s Design Team are working on completion of the necessary documentation for my Department to conclude this pre-tender stage. The NDFA will continue to engage directly with the school authority to keep it informed of progress.
Temple Carrig School has been approved for a project under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme to provide for a general classroom, Music room, Textiles room, an Art room, Graphics room, Multimedia room, Science laboratory with Preparation area, 2 Technology rooms with a shared Preparation area, and a 3 Classroom SEN base. My Department's Professional & Technical team met with the school authority and its Design team as part of a review of their Stage 1 Architectural report last month and it was agreed that given the constraints of the site and the accommodation required by the school, an additional review of the project brief would be required to ensure the longer term requirements of the school community will be fully addressed. My Department will be engaging with the school authority directly on the outcome of this review shortly. The next stage of the architectural process is stage 2a (detailed design) followed by stage 2b which includes application for planning approval.
Since 2020, my Department has invested around €4.5 billion in schools throughout the country with over €115m of this invested in school infrastructure in County Wicklow. Around 800 school building projects have been completed in this time and 300 other projects are under construction. I confirmed last week that close to 90 school building projects currently at tender stage will be authorised to proceed to construction over the course of 2024 and early 2025. These projects, which include Greystones Community College, will provide new and modernised facilities to help schools cater for growing populations in their areas and include 138 classrooms for children with special education needs, which is a key priority for Government. In total, around €800 million will be invested in these projects under my Department’s Large Scale Capital Programme and Additional Accommodation Scheme for essential classroom accommodation. This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right around the country and recognises the priority that Government puts on investment in education.
