Press release
Minister McHugh announces €30million investment in 405 schools
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The Minister for Education and Skills, Joe McHugh TD, has today (Monday 25 November 2019) announced a €30 million package for 405 schools around the country to carry out specialist improvements.
The Minister also confirmed a new climate action focus for the Summer Works Scheme with schools asked to plan for electric vehicle charging points.
The Minister said:
“The €30 million fund for the 2020 Summer Works Scheme that I am announcing for schools will make an enormous difference to the standard of facilities next year.
“Our focus is on three fronts – we have prioritised money to upgrade and improve life safety systems like fire alarms and detection and emergency lighting; we are funding new surfaces on play areas and car parks; and schools will be obliged to plan for electric vehicle charging.
“In total 405 primary and post-primary schools will benefit from the Summer Works Scheme – that’s more than a tenth of all the schools in the country in one go.”
The Summer Works Scheme 2020 includes 324 primary schools and 81 post-primary schools.
A climate action initiative has been included in the Summer Works Scheme 2020 to ensure schools future-proof for electric vehicles.
Any school which receives funding for car parking and play areas will be required to identify a point for electric vehicle charging. The funding will allow for specialist electric ducting under play and car parking areas in order to ensure resurfaced areas are not dug up in the future.
Minister McHugh said:
“The climate action element of next year’s summer works is a sensible plan for the future. More and more electric charging points are coming on stream and it is symbolic that schools will be demonstrating how important initiatives like this are.
“The work will be carried out in schools mainly over the summer months, so the disruption to students, teachers and other staff will be kept to a minimum.
“We have also made sure that schools are getting the notification several weeks earlier than last year to try to give principals and boards of management a better lead-in time to plan and then get the work done.
“The €70 million investment for 2019 and 2020 is helping more than 700 schools to improve their facilities.”
Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, Richard Bruton TD, said:
“Schools can be champions of climate action within their community. It’s great to see that schools will install electric ducting to facilitate the installation of electric vehicle charging when upgrading their play areas and car parks through the government’s summer works scheme.”
Projects allocated funding under the 2020 Summer Works Scheme relate to applications submitted by schools in category 10 from the Summer Works Scheme 2016/17 and category 1 from Summer Works Summer 2020 onwards.
Minister McHugh said:
“Summer Works is a significant undertaking for schools and their hard work planning and preparing is a key component in its success.
“I am confident that school authorities will be able to achieve best value for money on prices for jobs and I’m urging school authorities to ensure that they get the maximum benefit for their schools.
“The Summer Works grants follow on from Minor Works grants of €29 million that I announced two weeks ago which works out at €6,425 for a 50-pupil school and more than €11,000 for a school with 300 pupils.”
Schools are now required by legislation to report their energy use annually online through the Sustainable Energy Association of Ireland.
As part of the government’s Climate Action Plan, schools applying for Summer Works projects post 2020 will be required to register online with the SEAI, and commit to submit the appropriate returns, before any payments can issue in respect of the approved projects.
Under Project Ireland 2040, the education sector will receive approximately €12 billion from 2018 to 2027. This includes some €8.8 billion for the schools sector.
Minister McHugh said:
“The €30 million Summer Works Scheme demonstrates that the government is continuing to prioritise capital funding for school buildings which will enhance the learning and working environment for pupils and teachers and also responding to the need for enhanced climate action.”
All schools approved for the 2020 Summer Works Scheme are being notified by the department with further details and instructions on how to proceed.
ENDS
A full list of the successful schools is available below:
Summer Works Scheme List of Approved Schools 2021
Summer Works Scheme List of Approved Schools 2021
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The Summer Works Scheme (SWS) is designed to allow schools to carry out small and medium scale building works that will improve and upgrade existing school buildings. This scheme is additional to other capital funding schemes that are operated by the Department of Education and Skills such as the additional accommodation scheme, Emergency Works scheme, that is for projects of such urgency that they would prevent some or all of the school from opening, and Minor Works schemes. The current SWS was announced in March 2019 and is being applied on a multi-annual basis.
Applications from over 1,650 schools were received in response to a call for proposals in November 2015 from schools under the multi-annual SWS (2016 and 2017). A further 1162 applications were received this summer under SWS 2020 onwards.
Circular Letters (0055/2015) and (0027/2019) governing the scheme, which may be accessed on the department’s website, states that applications would be prioritised in the following categories:
SWS 2016/2017
Priority/Category 1: Gas Works
Priority/Category 2: Electrical Works
Priority/Category 3: Mechanical works
Priority/Category 4: Projects to facilitate inclusion and access for special needs pupils are now funded under the Emergency Works scheme
Priority/Category 5: Toilet facilities
Priority/Category 6: Roof works
Priority/Category 7: Window projects
Priority/Category 8: Curricular requirement projects
Priority/Category 9: Other structural improvements
Priority/Category 10: External environment projects
SWS 2020 onwards
Priority/Category 1: Life Safety Systems (Fire Alarm, Fire Detection and Emergency Lighting)
Priority/Category 2: Roof Works
Priority/Category 3: Electrical Works (other than Life Safety Systems)
Priority/Category 4: Mechanical Works
Priority/Category 5: Science Labs (incl. Gas Works)
Priority/Category 6: Toilet facilities
Priority/Category 7: Windows Projects
Priority/Category 8: Curricular Requirements (excl. Science Labs)
Priority/Category 9: Fabric defects
Priority/Category 10: External environment projects
Following this announcement, in the region of €130 million will have been approved in respect of 1,184 schools in respect SWS (2016/20170 for Categories 1 to 10.
In addition €17.1 million is being approved in respect of 163 schools under category 1 of SWS 2020 onwards.