It has come as a huge blow to the school communities that the Department of Education has decided to put on hold the construction of 29 new schools that were supposed to go to tender. This is part of a total of 58 schools that were to be constructed and go to tender and are now under review by the Department. The Department has refused to provide a list of the schools that are affected. Some of these schools have been waiting for more than a decade, relying on temporary buildings, in some cases across the road. A school in my own parish, Scoil Chonaill in Bun Beag, has been informed by the Department that it is one of the 58 schools that have been affected. The Department has said the decision was made because of inflation in the construction sector.

The Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform made commitments during the budget that changes had been made to the public works contract to safeguard project delivery in response to rising construction costs. Just a couple of months after the budget, how is it that all of these schools and children who are supposed to be going into classes that are expected to be delivered are in limbo? Some 29 projects have been cancelled or are on hold and 58 schools are under review. When will the Government give us clarity on this?

The Department of Education has a strong record of delivery of school building projects. Again, in 2022, it went way above its targets despite the high inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues. About 180 school building projects were delivered in 2022, which included accelerated delivery of modular accommodation to support provision for 900 pupils with special educational needs. About 300 school building projects were under construction at the start of this year, most of which will be completed this year or early in 2024, which includes about 40 new school buildings. Regarding the schools the Deputy referred to, advanced discussions are close to completion at an interdepartmental level. This issue will be sorted quickly and those schools will get go-ahead.