Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 July 2024
203. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Education to provide an update on additional accommodation to include two special classes at a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30603/24]
View answerI can confirm to the Deputy, that my Department is in receipt of an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, and a further revised application for additional accommodation was received in December 2023, from the school in question.
Since 2020, my Department has invested in the region of €4.9 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 900 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes 30 new school buildings. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.2bn.
The purpose of my Department’s Additional School Accommodation (or ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation or at other schools in the area.
At primary level, this situation generally arises to cater for a school’s accommodation requirements where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section, or the requirement for a new class for pupils with special education needs has been identified by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes. The capacity at other schools in the area is also considered as part of the assessment of any accommodation needs.
I can confirm that my officials have been engaging with the school authorities in relation to progressing their application with both a modular and traditional build project. Once the assessment process has been finalised, the school authority will be notified of the decision directly.
