I sincerely thank Deputy Ó Muirí for raising this topic, which he knows is extremely close to my heart. He has years of experience of involvement, in his local community of Clontarf and beyond, in this specific area and this is a great opportunity to delve into it a little bit. Since 2020 the Department of education has invested more than €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the national development plan. This has involved the completion of more than 1,375 school building projects. Government support for that investment has delivered real benefits. A recent Government decision has approved €210 million in supplementary capital funding for the Department. This brings the total capital allocation for 2025 to €1.6 billion. The provision of school places, including for children with special education needs, has been a priority for the Department over recent years and this will continue to be the case. Nevertheless, the Minister for Education and Youth fully recognises the importance of physical activity and recreational facilities for students of all ages. It is important to note the provision of outdoor play areas forms part of the accommodation brief for all new school buildings or where a major building or refurbishment project is being delivered for an existing school. The current design guidance for new primary and post-primary schools includes hard-surfaced play areas for both recreation and physical education activities. The guidance also includes provision of landscaped areas on school sites providing a variety of external informal and social areas to suit the learning development and cultural needs of students during breaks and before and after school, and for a range of more formal curriculum needs. In addition, the design guidance for accommodation for pupils with special educational needs includes provision of external play areas with soft surfacing and especially sensory gardens. The Deputy has raised this a number of times, including when he was on the city council. The increased level of sensory gardens in our national schools is something we should all be so proud of. They are having a huge impact. My son's school just opened a new one and it is making a world of difference to every pupil. To the Deputy's specific point, repairs to existing play areas may be considered under the Department's emergency works scheme. The purpose of that scheme is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. The scheme is intended to remedy an emergency situation and usually provides an interim measure until a permanent solution can be delivered. In the case of outdoor play areas this usually only includes repairs to existing play areas, but each application is assessed on its own merits. Additionally, as the Deputy has alluded to, the Minister recently announced details in respect of the climate action summer works scheme. The purpose of this scheme is to devolve funding to individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works that, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times to avoid disrupting the operation of the school. This scheme will operate on a multi-annual basis for a number of categories, including external environment projects, which could include the provision or upgrade of outdoor play areas. The new scheme opened for applications in early May 2025 and all applications must be received by 5.30 p.m. on 30 June. Deputy Ó Muirí's recommendation has serious validity. I am more than happy to bring that back to the Department of education and thank the Deputy for bringing it to the floor of the House.

Sentiment score: 0.32

I fully empathise, especially with the comparison with Manor House School. I happen to know the pitch quite well from previous exploits as a really bad coach. I appreciate a pitch of that size represents serious capital work that is obviously way beyond the schemes laid out that are open at the moment. However, we have seen examples where there have been what I would not call public-private partnerships but community partnerships involving the local authorities and local sports and schools at both primary and post-primary levels to provide new pitches. Obviously, the common-sense approach is to remediate existing facilities, especially when we are talking about all-weather surfaces like 3G and 4G. Those are expensive as they are a bit more than the hard play areas the Department is focused on at the moment, so that is an area where there is not a lack of funding or will but there is a need for a specific stream to cater to that. The situation of Belgrove Infant Girls' School in Clontarf is one that is coming up in a number of schools around the country. This is the time of year when they come up. The Minister will look favourably where there is a situation the Department can work with management to facilitate. I have no hesitation in saying I will sit down with the Minister for Education and Youth and specifically raise the issue of Belgrove Infant Girls' School in Clontarf on the Deputy’s recommendation.

Sentiment score: 0.01

I had to check my phone because in the Deputy's new guise as Oireachtas AI committee chairperson, I had to see if he had been reading my phone for the correspondence I have just had with the principal of a local national school in my area on more or less this exact point. This is an issue that regularly comes up for every Member of this House and I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to outline to the House, on behalf of the Minister, the position as to why the capitation grant for primary schools is less than that paid to secondary schools. As the Deputy knows, the Government is committed to increasing funding to support schools and the programme for Government commits to increasing capitation funding to all schools of all types to ensure they can meet the elevated day to day running costs. The commitment in the programme for Government builds on the progress that has been made in recent years including a more than €30 million permanent increase in capitation funding. This represents an increase of circa 12% on current standard rates and results in the standard rates increasing from €200 to €224 for primary schools and from €345 to €386 per student in post-primary schools from September 2025. Over the past two budgets there has been an increase of 22%, give or take, in the level of capitation rates paid to all schools. The Department is committed to providing funding to recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education scheme by way of per capita grants. The two main grants are the capitation grant to cater for day to day running costs such as heating, lighting, cleaning, insurance and general upkeep and the ancillary grant to cater for the cost of employing ancillary services staff. Schools have the flexibility to use capitation funding provided for general running costs and ancillary funding provided for caretaking and secretarial services as a common grant from which the board of management can allocate according to its own priorities. Primary schools with fewer than 60 pupils are paid the capitation and ancillary grants on the basis of having 60 pupils, no less. In addition to these grants, €45 million in cost-of-living supports were issued in November 2024 to support all recognised primary and post-primary schools in the free education system. This additional funding announced in the budget is designed to assist schools with increased day to day running costs such as the heating and electricity issues laid out by the Deputy. The funding was paid at a rate of €36 per pupil in primary schools and €55 per student in post-primary schools. Enhanced rates were also paid in respect of pupils with special educational needs and pupils from a Traveller background. The Department of Education is aware that costs and funding can pose a particular problem for schools, and is constantly working to address this matter and to enhance the financial and other supports available. While not wishing to pre-empt the outcomes of any future budget negotiations or fiscal parameters agreed by Government, the Department will continue to seek and prioritise the funding required to meet the ongoing costs. It is difficult to make precise comparisons between the levels of grants paid and the actual costs of running schools at primary and post-primary level. In general, and put simply, post-primary schools are larger than primary schools. They have specialist rooms such as laboratories, workshops etc. This leads to higher unit costs for heat, light, power, maintenance and cleaning. There are also additional resources required at post-primary level for specialist subjects, such as home economics, wood technology, engineering, graphics and applied technology. There is therefore a difference in the level of capitation funding provided to primary and post-primary schools. The current standard rate of capitation grant is €200 per pupil in primary schools and €345 per student in post-primary schools. What the Department will not let me say is that it is not that we are comparing apples and oranges. It is that perhaps we are comparing Golden Delicious and Granny Smiths. They are different sized entities, and the pupils are a different size. There are more staff and a requirement for more staff. The costs are on the basis that trying to provide catering facilities in post-primary schools is different from the resources needed for the free hot school meals provided at primary level. There will always be a need to increase the funding for both primary and post-primary but there will always be a difference between those schools which the Deputy and I know clearly through our work.

Sentiment score: 0.30

I will address three points in response. I will come to a broader point, but the first is that if there are specific schools, the financial support services unit, FSSU, on behalf of the Department plays a crucial role in seeing where there are funding gaps. In order for the Department to assess the current financial situation, the school needs to engage with the FSSU for the purpose. The Department will refer this school to the FSSU once confirmation of the situation is confirmed. If you have an individual school in your constituency facing specific needs that is where the FSSU can work in tandem with the Department. That is the first specific point. However, when a principal goes to you, they will thank you for that but say it is not going to solve their issue in the next 24 to 48 hours, and you should talk about that. Another area relates to the need to look at the overall economic model. The Deputy is right. There is no way I can disagree with that. If we are looking at a model based on a 1960s parameter, it is of course time to review or refresh that 60 years on. I am more than happy to make that argument to the Minister on the Deputy's behalf. However, the final point relates to the administrative costs of running schools at primary level. Never mind the 1960s, the administrative costs compared with six years ago are completely unrecognisable. The wonderful advances in special education provision, free hot meals provision and the extra ability for schools to do more comes with a greater cost. It comes with a greater cost, but those costs are not being matched. Those costs and responsibilities are falling on the shoulders of principals, many of them teaching principals. We regularly get questions from constituents as to why their child does not have free hot school meals. It is either due to space or capacity with staff. That is an area that needs review, and I would be more than happy to work with the Deputy to ensure that review is forthcoming and works to the betterment of all our schools.

Sentiment score: 0.11

I sincerely thank Deputy O'Donoghue for raising this timely and important issue. At the outset, and before I get into the specifics, I condemn any incidents of racially motivated abuse. I know the Deputy shares that view, as does everyone in this House. It is important to say that sometimes because we can tend gloss over it. Such behaviour is a scourge that we must all stay united in our opposition to. The Deputy rightly and specifically raised the issue of gardaí on the beat. Getting more gardaí on our streets is this Government's first priority in the area of justice. Increased recruitment and appropriate civilianisation, where possible, is ongoing in order to achieve this goal. The level of resourcing provided to An Garda Síochána is supporting this work. The latest recruitment campaign was successful in attracting 6,700 applications. Newly appointed gardaí will support existing members, such as the 775 Garda members assigned to the Dublin metropolitan region, DMR, north division, an increase of 107 since 2015, who are supported by 72 Garda staff, which is up 28 over the same period. I will address the issues specific to Northwood shortly, but the Deputy asked about community safety partnerships, which are key to addressing local concerns. More broadly, we recognise that we cannot police our way out of complex social problems. In that context, enhancing community safety requires a whole-of-society approach. That is why we are replacing joint policing committees with local community safety partnerships, LCSPs. These partnerships, which are provided for in the new Policing, Security and Community Safety Act, will build on the good work of the joint policing committees. I was a member of one of those committees in my area. They will have broader membership, bringing together local councillors, gardaí, residents, communities - including minority and new communities - education and business representatives and statutory agencies such as the HSE, Tusla, and local authorities. Each LCSP will develop a tailored community safety plan for its area. Regulations to formally establish the LCSPs are being finalised. I am informed by the Minister that these regulations will be completed shortly. The success of the pilot LCSPs demonstrated the value of this model. The Dublin north inner city plan included 50 actions across five priority areas and fostered strong collaboration between gardaí, youth services, addiction supports and local authorities. The pilot partnerships were subject to independent monitoring and evaluation with baseline, interim and final reports published. The learning from these pilots is being used to inform the national roll out of LCSPs. A total of 36 partnerships will be rolled out following the finalising of regulations in each local authority area. There will be one in each of the Dublin City Council administrative areas - five in total - and two in Fingal, namely one in north Fingal and another in west Fingal. Each LCSP will be led by a voluntary chair and supported by a full-time co-ordinator and administrator. The chair will be elected from among and by the partnership membership. While administrative boundaries require that certain areas fall into neighbouring LCSPs, the overarching aim is to maintain a co-ordinated, place-based response to community safety needs. The National Office for Community Safety, based out of the Department of Justice, has prepared a comprehensive guidance document. Additionally, the National Office for Community Safety will establish networks for LCSP chairs, co-ordinators and members, giving opportunities for collaboration to share examples of best practice and request support for emergent issues and co-ordinate and communicate in related areas. I will probably need to wait until the next slot to address the issues relating to Northwood more fully. However, I understand that gardaí have already increased high-visibility patrols in the Northwood area following a recent robbery in Gulliver's Retail Park. As a result of these patrols, the suspect was arrested by local gardaí and is currently before the courts. Community gardaí are continuing to act with the community in this area. I will go into more detail on matters relating to community gardaí in my next slot. I would do the matter a disservice if I were to just run through the first two paragraphs at this point.

Sentiment score: 0.26

I really appreciate the opportunity to come back in. I cannot stress enough how important it is that any of these issues that are brought to the attention of the House are solved by all of us. None of us can claim responsibility. None of us can shoulder all the blame. If we work together, however, we can alleviate the impact of what is happening. Community gardaí play such an important part in addressing and resolving these issues at local level. Members from the Ballymun community policing team have held Garda clinics specifically for the residents of Northwood, one of which was attended by the divisional crime prevention officer. The neighbouring policing team has also begun the process of establishing a business watch for Gulliver's Retail Park. Local gardaí have dealt with a number of young people regarding specific incidents of antisocial behaviour in the area. A number of individuals are either engaging with juvenile liaison officers or are before the courts and subject to strict bail conditions. On behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, I assure the Deputy that local gardaí will continue to work collaboratively with everyone in the community. While enforcement is essential, we also recognise that many of the young people involved in antisocial behaviour have simply strayed onto the wrong path. That is why prevention and early intervention are essential to our approach. The youth diversion projects that are funded by the Department of Justice are vital in this work. These community-based multi-agency initiatives aim to divert young people from criminal or antisocial behaviour at source. There are now 93 youth diversion projects nationwide, with two new projects, in east Clare and north Tipperary, to be operational by the end of this year, ensuring full national cover. I want to highlight the availability of funding for community-based CCTV schemes. Since 2017, over €950,000 has been approved for 36 schemes, and a further €1 million is available this year. Applications can be made by local authorities. Community groups may request their local authority to apply for funding. Once operational, the LCSPs will be the appropriate forums to co-ordinate such initiatives. On the specific LCSP in the Deputy's area, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, to liaise directly with his office to provide the updated information.

Sentiment score: 0.13