2026-05-06

I welcome the opportunity to again raise this important issue and to request that the Minister for Education and Youth provide additional funding for significant improvement and refurbishment works in schools. What is happening in my county of Kerry is simply not acceptable in 2026. We have a systemic problem of underinvestment and as I outlined about two weeks ago in this Chamber, it is very obvious in Scoil Iognáid Rís in Daingean Uí Chúis-Dingle. Conditions there are "outdated and dangerous", yet the school is told to apply under the emergency works scheme or the summer works scheme. With respect, these schemes are completely inadequate for what is required here. One cannot fix a 60-year-old school with structural and design failures through patchwork funding. It is not an isolated case. In Scoil Réalt na Mara in Cromane, the principal has confirmed to me that its minor works grant is just over €8,700 but a basic project like painting the school costs over €21,000 plus VAT. This is a funding model that is completely divorced from reality. Even more concerning, the school is being extended, increasing the building's size by over 50%, yet the funding to maintain it will not increase accordingly. How can that possibly make sense? We see similar problems in Presentation Monastery National School in Killarney. I call on the Minister to urgently progress the climate action summer works scheme application for St. Brigid’s Presentation Secondary School in Killarney, particularly regarding the upgrading of pupil toilet facilities. This is basic infrastructure and it cannot be delayed any longer. In general, schools are waiting far too long for clarity on staffing and summer programmes. This should be provided as soon as possible to allow schools to plan accordingly and give certainty to staff. It is the least that they deserve. Beyond infrastructure, the school is also dealing with significant demographic pressures and high levels of need yet has no access to DEIS supports in the Killarney area. This must be analysed and corrected. In Filemore National School, funding has been approved under the additional school accommodation scheme but is stuck in paperwork and bureaucracy. Will the Minister of State ask his officials to progress this with immediate effect? Aghatubrid National School is still waiting on progress for an autism unit, which is a vital service for families there. The tiles in Scoil Naomh Mhichíl Naofa in Dungeagan are almost 50 years old. The school has been asked to recost the works for a second time. Can that be looked into? Financing the day-to-day running costs of Caherdaniel National School is a major struggle. The list goes on. Castledrum National School is seeking a special class. The building is already there. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, might review this decision, as the school was already turned down. I do not see any sense or merit in that. It is the same in Killarney, which has major development plans - I will talk to the Minister of State in due course about that - as has Coláiste na Sceilge in Cahersiveen. The common threads here are clear - delays, underfunding, a system built on outdated assumptions, bureaucracy and too much red tape. Schools are being forced to fight for basic and essential infrastructure, so I am calling for three actions. The first is a comprehensive assessment of all primary and secondary school buildings in County Kerry and a proper identification of the scale of the refurbishment and modernisation required. The second is a dedicated funding stream for older school buildings, separate from minor and emergency works, to deal with structural long-term deficiencies. The third is a review of the minor works grant model so that it reflects the actual size and maintenance needs of school buildings and not just enrolment numbers.

I thank the Deputy for his Topical Issue. It gives me the opportunity to update the Dáil about investment in schools in Kerry but, more importantly, it shows that the Deputy is in touch with all the school communities, which is hugely important. All Deputies from all sides of the House are engaging with school communities because they are a hugely important piece. They are educating our young people and are meeting many challenges head on both at leadership level in the schools and as teachers and special needs assistants, SNAs, for which I commend them. The Deputy mentioned a number of schools in Kerry. I do not have the exact details of all the schools but I will endeavour to get them. I want to reassure the Deputy that we are aware of the challenges faced right across the country with regard to the schools estate, particularly in County Kerry. The Deputy will be aware that over €7.55 billion has been included in the sectoral investment plan for education and youth over the next four years. This plan has a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritising building projects to meet the most urgent needs. The plan includes 105 schools across the country, three of which are in Kerry. Since 2020, the Department of Education and Youth has provided €148 million in capital funding for schools in Kerry. Over this period, a total of 66 schools have been upgraded either through the provision of new school buildings, large-scale extensions or modular accommodation. More than 160 small-scale improvement projects were also completed in Kerry during that time. Eleven school projects in Kerry are under construction while another three projects will go to tender or construction in the 2026-27 period. The Deputy mentioned a number of schools awaiting special classes. A total of 70 special classes have been sanctioned in County Kerry over the past five years, of which 17 have been sanctioned for September 2026. The Deputy spoke about the minor works scheme. A number of grants are available to schools such as minor works grants, ICT grants, the summer works scheme and the emergency works scheme. The Deputy gave a reasonably good tour of the kingdom of Kerry in respect of the schools he mentioned and asked me to do a number of things. We are constantly reviewing the funding mechanisms and the capital investment in our schools right across the country. Visits to some schools would have shown that minor works or emergency works would not be enough to deal with the scale of the work that needs to be done. We are acutely aware of the challenges. The Deputy put his point very well with regard to a school that increased its capacity and floor size and still remained at the same level of the minor works scheme. I will certainly go back to the Department and look at that. On the Presentation school and the toilet facilities, these are urgent matters that need to be dealt with. The Deputy has made several representations across the school communities in Kerry and I endeavour to take up those issues with him. As for the schools he has mentioned, I will certainly look for an update on them to ensure there is an investment in the schools, starting with the most urgent. I will also meet the Deputy to go through the list of schools he is progressing. In the not-too-distant future, if the visas will be stamped, I hope to get across the border to the kingdom as well.

I thank the Minister of State for the response but I have to say it does not match the reality being experienced by many schools across County Kerry. This evening, I have raised consistent and repeated concerns from multiple school communities and I would like to return briefly to a few of them. Scoil Iognáid Rís, Dingle, has a building that is fundamentally unfit for purpose. This is not a minor works issue; it is a full redevelopment issue. In the case of Scoil Réalt na Mara, the funding model is clearly broken in that schools are expected to maintain expanding buildings with completely inadequate grants. In the case of Presentation Monastery National School, Killarney, I stress again that the climate action summer works scheme application, particularly for upgrading the pupil toilets there, must be progressed urgently. These are basic facilities and there is no justification for delay. As schools cannot continue to operate in a system where essential projects are stuck in bureaucracy, approved funding is not translating into delivery on the ground and principals are left firefighting instead of planning, I will ask again very directly whether the Minister of State will commit to a full assessment of school infrastructure in Kerry. Will he introduce a dedicated refurbishment fund for older schools and will he ensure urgent applications like that of Presentation Monastery National School are fast-tracked without delay? At the heart of all this is a very simple question, namely, why should a child in Kerry be expected to learn in conditions and environments that would not be tolerated anywhere else in the country? This is about safety, fairness and delivering a basic standard of education infrastructure that every child deserves. If we continue as we are, we are not improving our education system but are allowing it to fall behind. As the Minister of State knows well, the ones paying the price for this are the children sitting in those classrooms every day that are not sustainable.

I thank Deputy Cahill for his closing remarks. I take the point very seriously. He has very eloquently put the challenges facing several schools he has listed on the Dáil record as regards funding and some basic infrastructure. As a country, we have been very proud of our education system that has developed over many years but it is crucial because you have to have the right working environments for the teaching communities, leadership, teachers, SNAs and all the school communities together. More importantly, it is crucial to deliver a first-class education system. We have a huge amount of funding in place in terms of the capital funding over the next while, but we also have a huge amount of schools where there is competing demand to try to meet that. The Deputy mentioned seven schools, and if I have missed any one of them the Deputy might correct me on it, but I will endeavour to find out exactly what the issues are with each of those and report back to him. On the minor works and all the other schemes, the summer works scheme was started many years ago and has allowed funding to go into schools. It was the intention at the time that the works would be done over the summer holidays to allow for the least disruption but it has moved on from that. I take the point regarding some of the schools the Deputy mentioned, particularly in Dingle and the structural deficit that is there. I will endeavour to get a full update for him on them. He can rest assured the Government is very committed to funding schools right across the country, particularly in County Kerry. We have seen the benefit of education and the Deputy mentioned several schools that have indicated they wish to have special classes. We are working meticulously through numbers at present and I will certainly come back to the Deputy on the schools he has raised with me as a matter of urgency. I assure Deputy Cahill that I take seriously the issues he has raised regarding the school estates across Kerry. I will endeavour to make sure any bureaucracy or red tape that is holding up any the projects is cut through to deliver for him and for County Kerry.