The Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O’Sullivan, T.D., today announced the 70 school projects which are scheduled for construction in 2015.

A €2.2 billion five-year capital investment programme launched in March 2012, gave details of 275 new major school building projects to begin over the period 2012-2016. In 2013, details of a further 28 major school projects were announced that were approved to proceed to tender and construction.

The announcement today includes 16 further school projects that will replace inadequate educational infrastructure and provide much needed additional capacity to meet the demographic challenge.

Some €450 million will be spent on primary and post-primary infrastructure next year, with a projected expenditure on large scale projects of over €280 million.

The 70 major projects scheduled to proceed to construction in 2015 are:

• 44 new schools at primary level
• 11 extensions at primary level
• 5 new schools at second-level
• 8 extensions at second-level
• 2 new special schools

These school projects will deliver over 27,800 permanent school places and of these over 23,700 are additional places. The remainder will be the replacement of temporary or unsatisfactory accommodation.

Together with the school projects ongoing from 2014, this means that a total of 196 major school projects will be on site next year.

In addition, the Minister confirmed that a total of 42 major school projects have now reached substantial completion in 2014.

Announcing details of the 2015 building programme Minister Jan O’Sullivan said, “I am delighted to confirm today the major school projects which will be built next year.”

“Alongside the 27,800 permanent school places that are being provided, this significant investment will support approximately 3,000 direct jobs and more than 500 indirect jobs in 2015.”

Minister Jan O’Sullivan continued, “We have a pressing need to provide new schools and major extensions so as to continue to meet the accommodation requirements of our growing school going population.

“We are facing significant increases in the number of school going children in the coming years.  Total pupil enrolment in both primary and post-primary schools is expected to grow by almost 70,000 pupils between now and 2017 – over 44,000 at primary level and 25,000 at post primary – and will continue to grow up to at least 2026 at second level.”

“My primary aim is to ensure that there is sufficient school accommodation places in place in the education system to ensure that every child has access to a physical school place.” Minister Jan O’Sullivan concluded.

Today’s announcement is part of the Government’s plan to provide more than 100,000 permanent school places over the course of the five year plan.

As 2015 progresses, projects scheduled to begin building in future years will be assessed to see if they are ready to go to construction earlier than planned, and if there is financial scope to do so.

Details of the progress of all major projects listed in the Five Year Plan will continue to be maintained and updated on the Department’s website, www.education.ie