Funding for Ballintubber school works

EMERGENCY funding of €22,000 has been approved for Ballintubber National School for refurbishment works. This is in addition to a minor works grant that the school will receive as part of the government's plan for the full reopening of schools.

Confirming the allocation, Senator Lisa Chambers said significant refurbishment works are needed in the toilets and hand washing area of the school, which are essential due to the extra hand washing required.

“I am pleased that the department and minister have been able to allocate an additional €22,000 in emergency funding to pay for the cost of these works,” she said.

A sum of €75 million has been allocated to the minor works grant this year, which will effectively double the amount of money schools would ordinarily receive. The money is to be used to help schools make the necessary changes to cope with opening in a Covid-19 environment.

The grant is based on pupil enrolment numbers and for small rural schools with smaller pupil numbers this can be a disadvantage in terms of qualifying for a significant grant amount.

Senator Chambers said she has raised this issue directly with the Minister for Education, Norma Foley, and asked that some flexibility be given to small rural schools who may not have the numbers to qualify for a large grant but still needed to do necessary Covid-19 related works to reopen their school. She was assured that this flexibility will be present in assessing applications.