Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 April 2024
540. Deputy Mattie McGrath asked the Minister for Education when additional accommodation will be approved for a school in south Tipperary; the reason for the delay in approving such accommodation; the current status of the application for additional accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15129/24]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy, that the school in question has submitted an application for capital funding, under my Department's Additional School Accommodation Scheme (ASA).
The purpose of the Additional School Accommodation scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation.
In general, demographics have been falling at primary level and are due to continue to decrease.
Therefore the Department considers it prudent to maximise the use of existing spare accommodation capacity at primary level in the first instance, before considering any applications for further accommodation needs. This is in line with public spending requirements.
The Department’s Planning and Building Unit is therefore carefully analysing the medium to longer-term requirements for additional accommodation taking account of enrolment projections and the need to make optimum use of existing capacity in schools in the area.
Our main focus is on the most critical needs for the next school year. In the context of making most effective use of our capital allocation, and mindful of climate action goals, we are working to make sure that all school accommodation capacity is being maximised. We are looking at how each individual school’s accommodation can be best utilised and at capacity across schools in each school planning area.
The application for this school is being considered in this context and we are working to get a decision communicated to the school as soon as possible.
