576. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of schools in County Meath who have applied for the emergency works scheme in the past 12 months; the status of each application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34406/26]

As the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.

An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.

The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope works to address the emergency situation. The EWS is intended to remedy an emergency situation and usually provides only an interim measure until a permanent solution can be delivered under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) which deals with upgrade works to the school.

With regards to the question, 34 schools in county Meath have applied for EWS in the past 12 months with a total of 64 EWS applications with 33 of these projects being approved for funding, 5 currently being reviewed by the Departments technical team, 9 of which the Department is awaiting further information from the school and 17 were not approved as they did not meet the criteria set out in Circular Letter 0068/2020.