As every kid in the country already knows, because the Department of Education is incapable of building decent schools, sooner or later they’ll end up a book-learnin' in a Portakabin. In a recent attempt by the Department to reduce levels of frustration and make desperately needed school upgrades possible to achieve within the average person's lifetime, a scheme was put in place whereby school Boards of Management were given the power (within reason) to disburse grants of up to €380,000 on the provision of additional classrooms, school halls, etc. Previously, all school upgrade projects were sent to Dublin for approval where they were left to wither on the endless shelves of bureaucracy. The new system was supposed to be an improvement on what went before and, until lately, people would have said this was the case.

The problem which has emerged is that, no matter how quickly the Department of Education acts in turning the paper work around, school upgrades and extensions still require planning permission. What’s happening is this: the €380,000 grant figure is, in these economically challenging times, fast becoming an absolute maximum – this is despite the fact that it’s widely acknowledged the sum barely covers the cost of two new classrooms and an exercise hall and leaves no margin for unforeseen circumstances. However, when school Boards lodge planning applications for their two-classroom-projects, they are routinely requested by local authority planners to provide additional facilities – parking spaces, play areas, plumbing system upgrades, and so on – which were not part of the original project and for which, crucially, no funding is available. Up until a few months ago, when council planners requested these kinds of additional facilities, school boards could apply to the Dept of Ed to make up the shortfall.

But not anymore. Consultants involved in school extension projects are reporting great frustration with the situation as local authority planners increase the scope of school projects beyond what the Board of Management can afford and then, when the difficulty is pointed out to them, refusing to compromise. One consulting company reports that nine of their projects in the Munster area which were due to begin in March are now at a complete standstill because they can’t meet the planners’ demands (this is where the paranoid types amongst us begin to wonder if the Local Authorities are doing the Department of Education’s dirty work in assisting in a cynical penny pinching exercise, an idea the cultivation of which is likely to affect one’s health. And yet, it’s plausible).

So, not only are hundreds of young children in one of the wealthiest nations in the world receiving education in third world facilities, but consultants who specialise in school building projects are being threatened with their livelihoods (a Midlands office is facing lay-offs (if not more) if their entire slate of fifteen projects continues to be held up) and its understood that a building contractor with exposure to the school building sector is currently under a lot of pressure as well.
  
One ‘initiative’ which the Department has floated in an attempt to get over the budgetary crisis is for Boards of Management of provide yet more Portakabins. However, In order to ensure 'value for money for the taxpayer', the Dept is suggesting that Boards purchase Portakabins instead of leasing them. But again, the planners have something to say about this – in a couple of cases local authorities have insisted that, whether leased or purchased, Portakabin classrooms can be used for a maximum of five years after which time they have to be removed and replaced (how? and with what?). 
 
Meanwhile, am I right in remembering that a few weeks ago, John Gormley proposed that building tall wind turbines on school grounds to provide energy for school buildings would be considered ‘exempted development’? So, apparently, you can build the turbine but not the actual school.

Anyway, I’ve only only just skimmed the surface of what’s actually going on. For example, there was a meeting involving a Junior Minister and some planning officials to try to reach a solution to the problem which ended up with the planning people promising to compromise before going back on their agreement. And there are also suggestions that consultants are being pressured into keeping their mouths shut about what’s happening.