The total allocation of €2.2bn over the next five years with average annual allocation of €440m.
2012 => €430,000,000
2013 => €415,000,000
2014 => €475,000,000
2015 => €475,000,000
2016 => €415,000,000
Total spend on schools is just over €2bn over the period with €120m for higher education.
Job creation
There is general agreement that school works are very labour intensive. The Construction Industry Council have suggested that there are 10 direct jobs and 2 indirect one for every €1m capital spend.
This programme of capital investment in education will provide approximately 4,000 direct and 800 indirect jobs per annum, or approximately 24,000 jobs over the lifetime of this Government.
Schools – focus on demographic demands
There are unprecedented demographic demands for school places in schools. Total enrolment in both primary and post-primary schools is expected to grow by almost 70,000 between now and 2018 - over 45,000 at primary level and 25,000 at post primary.
Recent birth rate data, published by the CSO shows there were nearly 20,000 births registered in the first quarter of 2011. This is the highest number of births registered in a quarter since the series began in 1960. It is vital that the schooling system is prepared to cope with these increasing numbers.
In this context, the Government’s priority is now to focus on major school projects to meet these demographic demands.
I have already announced that over 40 new schools will be required by 2017. Of these, over 20 new schools will have to be established at primary level and another 20 new schools will have to be established at second level.
In addition to these new schools over 180 existing primary schools and second-level schools in developing areas will need major extensions or new buildings between now and 2017 to cater for the increased demand for pupil places and there will also be a need to construct a large number of extensions outside of these areas.
The investment for the next five years will facilitate the provision of over 100,000 permanent school places of which over 80,000 will be additional school places.
By 2016 the total school going population will have risen to over 890,000 pupils. Through the Government’s investment programme, over 11% of the total school population will benefit from new permanent places. This is a significant programme of work.
Minor works / Summer works
Funding of €28 million is being made available to provide a primary schools minor works grant for the current school year. This grant will be paid to schools in the coming weeks.
Given the need to focus on meeting the need for additional school places for demographics, it is unlikely that funding for minor works or summer works will be available in the coming years.
Progression of school building projects
In relation to major projects which do not provide a significant amount of additional accommodation, decisions will be taken prior to projects going to tender. These decisions will have regard to the funding available, the progression of other major projects and the building costs involved.
Higher Education
There will be limited higher education capital investment which will involve projects with existing contractual commitments in place being completed. These include the UCD Science Centre, the University of Limerick Medical School, NUI Maynooth’s library project and the new Campus Development, at St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.
Projects where contractual commitments have not yet been entered into will not be advanced and the higher education PPP bundles will not proceed.
In relation to DIT’s Grangegorman campus development, exchequer infrastructure investment will be postponed for the lifetime of the investment framework and planning will take place towards an initial PPP project, for possible completion in 2017.
It is recognised that this will be a challenging time for the higher education sector given that dedicated exchequer funding to assist with the further development of infrastructure will not be available. This is a necessary decision given the need to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place and the constraints on the capital funding available to the Department and to Government.
Q&A on Education Spending:
How does this envelope compare with the envelope published in November 2010?
Overall the allocation from 2012 to 2016 has been reduced by €68m which is a 5% reduction.
Tender prices are now up to 40% lower than when at their peak three to four years ago and, therefore, it will be possible to get a greater return from this level of investment.
How does this envelope compare with capital funding in recent years?
There was obviously a peak in capital spending in the period 2007 – 2008 with nearly €650m spent on schools capital in each of these years and about €150m on higher education. However, projects costs would have been much higher during this period too. Overall, capital expenditure has been reducing since 2009. Expenditure for 2010 was €786m and the allocation for 2011 is €501m.
How will the investment on schools be spent?
· As the priority is to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place, the investment will be concentrated on the delivery of new schools and large scale extensions that will provide the additional school places.
· We will also be progressing a number of school extensions where one or two additional classrooms are required to address localised pupil population growth and these will be devolved to schools for delivery.
· To meet the demand for new schools, funding will also be directed towards the acquisition of suitable sites.
· A small sum will be set aside to meet emergency demands that typically arise on an annual basis as well as meeting various miscellaneous demands.
How will you ensure that projects are delivered to meet demand?
· The Department has devolved responsibility for the delivery of a number of the new post-primary schools and VEC extensions to VECs. The construction of a new primary and a new post-primary school in Drogheda has been devolved to Louth County Council.
· Agreement has been reached with the National Development Finance Agency and the Office of Public Works that each of them will advance with groups of projects on a priority basis on behalf of the Department.
· Five professional and technical staff have also been transferred to the Department on an interim basis from the National Building Agency. This is in line with the Government’s approach to move staff to where there is an urgent need to carry out priority work.
· In relation to site acquisitions and planning, there is also urgent co-operation underway between the Department and local authorities.
How will schools manage without summer works and minor works in future years?
· There has been significant investment in these areas in recent years – particularly in the last three years. Over €600m has been invested since 2007 and this has enabled schools to undertake extensive refurbishment.
· In the context of the significant recent investment and the 2011 allocation of a minor works grant to primary schools, the Department’s capital envelope is being prioritised to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place and, arising from this, there is not sufficient funding available to provide for summer works and minor works.
· The allocation of the minor works grant to primary schools in the coming weeks will allow them to undertake some planning for contingencies. Furthermore, should an emergency arise, schools may apply to the Department to access limited funding for this.
Are all the construction jobs supported by your allocation going to be in Dublin?
· No. The need for additional school places extends out to the wider commuter belt areas stretching across from Gorey in the south, over to towns such as Carlow, Portlaoise, Tullamore, Mullingar and Navan up to Dundalk in the north and the bulk of the towns in between.
· There are also areas of significant growth and pressure for school places in many parts of Cork city and Galway city and equally in towns such as Letterkenny where a significant population increase has been experienced.
· The bulk of the additional pupil places that will be required over the next decade will arise in the areas mentioned.
What is the timescale to implement the commitment in the Programme for Government to progressively phase out the inefficient renting of school prefabs?
· We said that we would prioritise school building projects in a revised national development plan and that is what we are doing.
· The focus of investment needs to be on growing schools. Investment in these schools will mean that prefabs are replaced in them.
· The number of prefabs being rented is also reducing. In December 2009, there where nearly 1,900 prefab units being rented, this has fallen to 1,602 this year.
How much are you spending on renting prefabs?
It is estimated that prefab rental costs for 2011 will be in the region of €21m. This compares to €27m in 2009 and €24m in 2010.
How many children are taught in prefabs?
It is not possible to state with any certainty the number of children being taught in prefab classrooms. The level of usage of the accommodation would vary widely among schools.
Higher Education
Is there sufficient funding for higher education infrastructure?
· There has been significant capital investment of just under €1bn in the higher education sector over the last seven years. Major projects have been completed in Athlone IoT, Dundalk IoT, NUI Galway, Mary Immaculate College, UCC and Trinity College.
· Projects that are already underway will be completed, these include the UCD Science Centre, the University of Limerick Medical School and the new Campus Development at St. Patrick’s College, Drumcondra.
· Projects where capital commitments have not yet been entered into will not be advanced and the higher education PPP bundles will not proceed.
· In relation to DIT’s Grangegorman campus development, infrastructure investment will be postponed for the lifetime of the investment framework and planning will take place towards an initial PPP project, for possible completion in 2017.
· Difficult decisions have had to be made but it was necessary given the need to ensure that every child has access to a school place and the constraints on the capital funding available to the Department and to Government.
How will the higher education sector be able to cope with increasing numbers if there are to be no new major projects?
· It is recognised that this will be a challenging time for the higher education sector. There is already a sustainability study underway by the Higher Education Authority arising out of the national strategy for higher education.
· The intention of this study is to assess the inter-relationship and tension between objectives for growing student numbers in higher education, maintaining and improving quality and managing within overall funding constraints.
· The purpose of undertaking this work is to ensure that realistic and sustainable levels of growth in numbers can be supported and that better informed choices can be made on policy options for future funding.
· In assessing this, the HEA has also been asked to consider the impact of more effective utilisation of existing resources, including through the potential of contractual changes under the Croke Park agreement. They will also draw on international comparisons and benchmarks in their work. While the overall study is a complex exercise, preliminary findings are due soon.
· In planning for the next few years of higher education, the state is not in a position to expand the infrastructure and it will be necessary for higher education institutions to continue to be flexible in the ways in which they cater for their student cohort.
Will there be refurbishment and emergency works funding available for higher education institutions?
The limited higher education capital investment will only involve projects with existing capital commitments in place being completed. There will be no funding available for new projects. Institutions will need to manage their own building stock without access to additional capital funding.
What are the planned major higher education projects that will not be funded?
The following projects which are currently in planning or at tender for traditional delivery will not be funded:
o UCD School of Law
o Medical facilities at NUI Galway
o Medical facilities at UCD
o Confucius Institute at UCD
o Campus redevelopment works at the Church of Ireland College of Education in Rathmines
o Works at St Angela’s College in Sligo
Grangegorman and PPPs
Why is Grangegorman being postponed?
In relation to DIT’s Grangegorman campus development, the Government remains committed to this project in the long term. Infrastructure investment will be postponed for the lifetime of the investment framework as funding is not available and planning will take place towards an initial PPP project, for possible completion in 2017. The Department will consult with DIT, the Grangegorman Development Authority and the HEA in this regard.
What about health and safety issues in relation to older DIT buildings? Will these buildings have to close? What does this mean for students enrolled in DIT?
Planning has been underway in relation to Grangegorman for a number of years. DIT has continued to operate successfully from within its existing stock of buildings.
While there is now a longer timeframe associated with the delivery of Grangegorman, the Government remains committed to this project and DIT will need to manage its building stock in the interim period. If particular issues arise in relation to existing buildings, DIT will need to discuss the approaches that it needs to take with the HEA and the Department.
Why are the PPPs being stopped?
There are significant annual unitary charges which arise from the time of the completion of these projects, as well as VAT payments on completion of the construction of higher education PPPs. The funding for these is not available.
What Higher Education PPPs are not proceeding?
· All higher education PPPs are being stopped. The Department currently has three Bundles of higher education PPP projects progressing through the various stages of procurement:
· Bundle 1 - This Bundle consists of projects in the following areas:
o Limerick Institute of Technology - Library Information Resource Centre
o University of Limerick – Library extension
o Cork Institute of Technology – Library extension
o Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology – Digital Media Teaching Building; Consolidated Workshops; Multi Purpose Hall
· Bundle 2 –This Bundle consists of projects in the following areas:
o Waterford Institute of Technology – Engineering and Science Building; Architecture Building; Business and Enterprise Extension
o Institute of Technology, Tallaght – Catering & Tourism Building; Multi Purpose Centre; Engineering Building
· Bundle 3 –This Bundle consists of projects in the following areas:
o National University of Ireland, Maynooth – Mathematical Sciences and Computer Centre
o Carlow Institute of Technology - New Administration and Support Centre
o Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology – Engineering School
