Calls for additional investment to speed up delivery of Kilkenny school buildings

Fianna Fáil TD for Carlow/Kilkenny, Peter ‘Chap’ Cleere has called for additional funding from the Department of Education to move proposed school infrastructure projects from the planning stage to construction.

Speaking to the Tánaiste during parliamentary questions in the Dáil, Deputy Cleere outlined the situation facing many schools across Kilkenny and Carlow.

“Across the country, and particularly in my constituency, schools are relying on prefabs that were intended to be temporary but have now become a long-term fixture. The core issue is not a lack of planning, but a lack of capital funding that reflects today’s construction costs,” he said.

“Projects that were costed a number of years ago are now far more expensive to deliver, as inflation in the building sector has fundamentally changed the picture. Significant funding has been committed under the latest National Development Plan, with €7.6 billion allocated to the Department of Education, but I fear this is not enough.”

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“Schools such as Borris College, St Mary’s CBS Carlow, St Senan’s National School Kilmacow and St Kieran’s College Kilkenny are all in need of additional support,” he added.

Deputy Cleere pointed out that there are 284 large scale projects and 878 additional accommodation projects listed on the Department of Education’s website, bringing the total to 1,162 projects nationwide, including 30 in Carlow and Kilkenny.

However, he noted that the latest round of capital funding will see only 105 schools receive support. He said additional capital investment is needed to ensure these projects can proceed to completion.

Deputy Cleere concluded by calling on the Tánaiste to consider whether additional capital funding can be allocated to address these delays, and whether the Government will commit to reviewing and increasing the capital budget for school buildings so that approved projects can be delivered on time.

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Article funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme