Minister doesn't know if there is enough money in €12 bill pot to pay for Laois school for children with profound disabilities

One of the Government's most powerful Ministers has ordered a review to find out if there is enough money in a €12 billion pot to pay for over 50 new schools including one in Laois that caters for 40 children with profound learning disabilities but who are being educated in old prefabs.

Paschal Donohoe switched from the Department of Finance to the top job in Public Expenditure and Reform when Leo Varadkar became Taoiseach. In recent days the Kolbe School in Portlaoise and scores of others around Ireland have been told to halt their plans due to the intervention of his department.

It is reviewing the cost of the schools on the list against the amount of money in the €12 billion National Development Plan budget.

Minister Donohoe's Department has yet to reply to Leinster Express Laois Live questions as to why but he was asked about the delay to 50 schools on Morning Ireland on RTÉ.

Aine Lawlor asked directly: "Will your department be able to give the money to those schools to go ahead to tender and construction and by when?"

Minister Donohoe replied.

"We will work with Minister (for Education Norma) Foley in relation to this. Minister Foley has already indicated a committment that she has to delivering those schools," he said.

He said he appreciated that the schools needed a timeline but wants to check the figures.

"But what we need to do is look at all of the different capital projects that we have underway across the country and make sure we have the funding in place to deliver them all. What I will do in the coming weeks is to work with Minister Foley in relation to this.

"Of course, I can understand when we are talking about a National Development Plan, and what I am talking about here is how we can improve decisions in the plan as opposed to making more money available for it which will wait until the budget. 

"It is correct that we have to point out the things that we have difficulties on such as where we are with new schools but we are also going ahead with a very ambitious school programme already which has lots of new schools being opened at the moment," he said.

He added that in higher education there is a new campus for TU Dublin and good decisions have been made around student accommodation. 

Asked if there will be delays to projects. 

"There was some delays but it is to be expected when you are investing over €12 billion in delivering new projects. Not every projects unfolds in the way you want. The reason for that is we are experiencing such change in the cost of raw materials and the war in Ukraine and of course we have continual challenges in getting enough and the right people to do the work that we want," he told RTÉ.

Laois TD admits vital Portlaoise school build is 'on hold' and contacts Minister

He insisted that the NDP will deliver new schools, universities, better public transport and more homes being built.

The Kolbe School has already been costed at about €9 million. The project has planning permission, the designs are in place and the Department of Education authorised the project. 

Heartbreak as school for most vulnerable children in Laois put on hold

The Kolbe School is one of the last schools in Portlaoise to be given an overhaul. The state has spent millions of euro in the past two decades building new schools around Portlaoise.