Taoiseach and Ministers Announce €11.9 billion Investment in Education as part of Project Ireland 2040
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The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD, the Minister for Education and Skills Richard Bruton TD, the Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD and the Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development John Halligan TD today (Friday 14th September) announced a major package of investment in education under Project Ireland 2040, the government’s €116 billion investment and development plan for the next decade.
This major investment will underpin the implementation of the Action Plan for Education, led by Minister Bruton, which is the government’s plan to make the Irish education and training service the best in Europe by 2026.
Education is central to achieving the government’s overall objectives under Project Ireland 2040- a strong, future-proofed economy, balanced across the regions and a fair society. Education is the engine behind strong national and regional development, delivering the future skill needs of our economy. It is also essential to breaking down barriers and enabling people to fulfil their full potential.
Project Ireland 2040 provides for a €11.9 billion investment in the education and training sector over the period 2018 to 2027. This will deliver:
Announcing this further investment under the Project Ireland 2040, An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD said:
“Project Ireland 2040 represents a significant shift in how we as a country plan for our future development. We are taking a much longer term view and linking investment with planning for the first time ever. In the education sector, that means we’re significantly increasing the amount we invest in our schools, colleges and universities. For example, we’ll be boosting the school building budget by 70% over the next ten years and trebling our investment in higher education."
“I am particularly pleased that we’ll be investing in PE halls – modernising old ones and building new ones – to ensure all post primary students can use state of the art PE facilities. This will be especially important as we phase in PE as a Leaving Cert exam subject. Education doesn’t just drive economic success, it’s also crucial to giving everyone the opportunity to fulfil their full potential, in all parts of the country. This ambitious and unprecedented level of investment – almost €12 billion – in our education sector will ensure our this generation of children and the next get the best possible start in life.”
Announcing this major investment in education, Minister Bruton said:
“Education is central to, and indeed enables our overall objectives under Project Ireland 2040. Education is critical to planning for a strong, future-proofed economy, balanced across the regions and a fair society, removing barriers to opportunity."
“This €11.9 billion investment reflects the importance this government puts on education and will enable our ambition to make Ireland’s education and training service the best in Europe by 2026. We are investing in modern, state of the art facilities in our schools, higher and further education institutions, which are energy efficient and fit for purpose for the curricular reforms we are making. We are giving schools, higher and further education institutions more certainty over the grants they receive and better lead in times, making it easier to plan."
“Education is the engine behind strong regional growth, which is pivotal to rebalancing growth as envisioned by the Project Ireland 2040. It is central to this government’s central objective, which is to provide for a strong economy and a fair society. The investment under the Project Ireland 2040 will have a transformative impact on our education system and take us further along our journey, to becoming the best in Europe.”
Minister of State for Higher Education Mary Mitchell O’Connor said:
“Project Ireland 2040 represents a step change for State capital investment in higher education – close to a tripling in funding over the next decade when compared to the past decade."
"This will support the sector in realising its potential as a driver of the Project 2040 objectives with regard to more balanced population and employment growth across Ireland’s regions. It will also help address current infrastructure deficits and cater for the projected 20% increase in the higher education student population between now and 2029.”
Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development John Halligan TD said:
“I am pleased that Project Ireland 2040 includes a €300m capital envelope for Further Education and Training over the course of the 10 year period 2018-2027. With €65m already agreed for 2018-21, this represents an additional €235m over the remaining period of Plan. The additional capital supports will be prioritised to address issues with the condition of the existing capital stock, to roll out critical new apprenticeship syllabi and courses and to consolidate the provision of further education and training in modern, fit-for-purpose facilities that enable the delivery of high quality integrated programmes.”
Our ambition is to ensure that our children are being educated in modern, state of the art facilities that are fit for purpose and meet the needs of the reforms we are making to the curriculum that is being taught. We also want to give schools more certainty over the minor works and summer works grants they receive and better lead in times to make it easier for school communities to plan.
We will be investing €8.4 billion in school buildings over the lifetime of Project Ireland 2040.
We are:
Project Ireland 2040 provides the investment necessary to implement the commitments in the Action Plan for Education to reform and modernise the school curriculum:
Our ambition is to realise, over the lifetime of the Plan, a high quality higher education infrastructure that is equipped to cater to a significantly expanded student body; that supports innovative and flexible approaches to teaching and learning, including online provision; that is a driver of the ambitions of Project Ireland 2040 with regard to a more balanced population and employment growth across Ireland’s regions; and that has a sharp focus on developing and sustaining the skills and research base necessary to underpin Ireland’s competitiveness.
Including PPP investments and support for research, we will be investing a total of €2.8 billion in Higher Education over the lifetime of the Project Ireland 2040.
Today’s announcement focuses on key priorities for the coming five years, during which a total of €532m in additional Exchequer funding will be invested in infrastructure development across the sector.
Today we are announcing:
Support for research is also a key pillar of the approach of the Department of Education and Skills. Increased funding of €7m on an annual basis from 2019 will support an expansion in the number of awards through the Irish Research Council, as well as the further development of the ICT infrastructure that supports research in higher education institutions. This is in addition to the Disruptive Technologies Innovation Fund, announced as part of the Project Ireland 2040, and other research and innovation investments by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation.
Supporting the development of apprenticeships, traineeships and further education is a key priority under the Project Ireland 2040. The government is committed to more than doubling the number of new apprentices registered to 9,000 by 2020 and expanding further into new areas. We will have the first ever capital budget for Further Education and Training under the Project Ireland 2040, which will see €300m invested over the next 10 years in modern, fit for purpose facilities.
The capital funding of €8m for apprenticeship equipment in the IoTs announced earlier this year will directly support an estimated 2,300 additional apprentices across 13 trades.
ENDS
The provision of additional school places to cater for demographic pressures will remain a key priority throughout the lifetime of the Project Ireland 2040 will be aligned with the new approach to spatial planning envisaged in the National Planning Framework. Nationally, enrolments at post-primary level are projected to continue to grow to 2025. While national enrolments at primary level are currently reaching peak levels, regional and local variations mean that there will be a continued strong need for provision of additional school places in areas of population growth – 26 of the 42 new schools to be established between 2019 and 2022 are at primary level.
The current status of the 359 large-scale projects being delivered as part of the school building programme is set out in a single list on the department’s website and updated on a monthly basis to reflect their progression through architectural design, tender and construction. Progression of large-scale projects on the school building programme remains a key priority.
Key actions in this regard include:
Some examples of the 600 prefabs being replaced under the Prefab Replacement Programme in 2018/2019 include:
Roll Number | School | Permanent project | Number of prefabs being replaced |
20131D | Grangegorman ETNS | New 24 classroom school (plus new Special Needs Unit). Expected to go to site early 2019. | 24 prefabs |
20043G | Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna, Knocklyon | New 16 classroom school. Expected to go to site early 2019. | 17 prefabs |
71840V | Coláiste Chiarain, Croom, Co. Limerick | New 850 pupil Post-Primary School. Project currently on site. | 55 prefabs |
19993E | Gaelscoil An Ghort Alainn, Cork | New 16 classroom school. Project currently on site. | 15 prefabs |
17961E | Lusk NS | Two new 16 classroom schools (Junior and Senior Schools). Buildings completed. | 26 prefabs |
18864L | Coosan NS, Athlone | New 16 classroom school. Project currently on site. | 13 prefabs |
18288B | Scoil Mhichil Naofa, Athy | Refurb/extn. Stage 2B reviewed and pre-qualification of contractors in progress. | 19 prefabs |
20012S | Griffith Barracks ET, SCR | New 16 classroom school. Project completed. | 9 prefabs |
62870G | Presentation College, Athenry | New 1,000 pupil school (plus new Special Needs Unit). Project currently on site. | 12 prefabs |
17159I | Garranbane National School, Dungarvan | Extension to existing school building. Project currently on site | 8 prefabs |
Major refurbishment and upgrade programme totalling €112m
The projects announced today are:
Co-funding of significant strategic projects: €117 million in Exchequer funding aims to deliver at least a further €117m in other investments
Project Ireland 2040 recognises the important role that non-Exchequer funding sources have in expanding and modernising higher education campuses, and, in its allocation decisions, the Department of Education and Skills is proactively seeking to maximise the leverage potential of Exchequer funds.
The co-funding of two major new projects is being announced today:
The remainder of the €117m (€86m) is being earmarked as a HEI Strategic Infrastructure Fund. This complements the significant strategic projects to be delivered in Institutes of Technology through the Higher Education PPP programme, which is currently in design stage.
The Department of Education and Skills will support co-funded projects with the aim of delivering at least the same amount again in private investments. The Higher Education Institution will be required to seek the balance of funding through, for example, philanthropy, borrowing or own resources.
The key criteria for project selection under this Fund are:
In making decisions on projects to be funded in this category, account will be taken of the balance of projects across the sector as a whole and advancement of system-wide objectives.
The Higher Education Authority will be writing to Higher Education Institutions in the coming weeks to invite proposals in this category.
Capital grant for minor works and equipment: €10m announced today for 2018/19 academic year, review to inform future mechanism
A Devolved Grant totalling €10m to Institutes of Technology for the 2018/19 academic year is confirmed. The funding, which will support minor works and equipment renewal in Institutes of Technology, will be provided in January 2019 and will be allocated in accordance with enrolment bands.
A review of the Devolved Grant is also being announced today with a view to mapping out an enhanced capital grant mechanism in the context of a gradually increasing resource envelope under Project Ireland 2040.
This review will examine, and make recommendations on, the following key issues:
The terms of reference for the review are currently being finalised.
The review will be overseen by a Steering Group including representatives of the Department of Education and Skills, HEA, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, THEA and the IUA.
Other capital investments being progressed
Today’s announcements are in addition to other significant capital projects previously announced and currently being progressed across the higher education sector including: