Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 April 2025
787. Deputy Pat Buckley asked the Minister for Education if she will give permission for a school (details supplied) to install temporary accommodation until its extension for extra classrooms is built. [18782/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm to the Deputy that my department is in receipt of an application for funding from the school in question. This application for temporary accommodation is being assessed under the department's Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme.
The purpose of the ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom and special education needs (SEN) accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation or by available accommodation at other schools in the area.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.9 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,350 school building projects.? Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in the coming months, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 610,000 square metres of new and modernised capacity to our school estate.?? 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.?
The Programme for Government recognises the importance of strong capital investment in the school building programme and supporting this with enhanced allocations through the NDP process.??
In County Cork alone, in the period 2020 – 2025, the department has invested €685 million on projects in construction, projects in the pipeline and on completions. There were 156 projects completed in Cork in the period 2020 to 2025 and there are currently 27 projects in construction. There are an additional 40 projects at various stages of detailed design and there are a further 13 modular projects at an advanced stage of delivery.
Again, I wish to advise the Deputy that the school's ASA application is currently being assessed. My officials have and will continue to engage with the school and will endeavour to make a decision on the ASA application as soon as possible.
The extension project referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter the department’s pipeline of school buildings under the Additional School Accommodation scheme to provide one mainstream classroom and a 2 Classroom SEN base. The project was devolved for delivery to the School Authority.
I can confirm that my department now awaits a Stage 1 report for review. Once the Stage 1 submission is submitted and reviewed by my department, the next step for this project is to move to planning, then tender and construction stage will follow. It is now within the remit of the school authority to progress this very important project.
At this early stage, it is not possible to predict when a project of this nature will go to construction, nor when it will be completed, as progress depends upon many contingent factors that can arise.
