Labour: Government sidelines community schools in building plans
Labour: Government sidelines community schools in building plans - The Labour Party
- ETB schools pushed to back of queue
Labour education spokesperson Eoghan Kenny TD today responded to the Government’s announcement of 105 prioritised school building projects, welcoming investment in new and upgraded facilities but warning that the list exposes a serious imbalance in who benefits and who is being left behind, and calling on the Minister for Education to urgently rebalance capital investment so that ETB schools and Irish-medium education are treated fairly.
Deputy Kenny said:
“Every new classroom and every modern school building matters, and Labour welcomes investment that improves learning environments for students and staff. But when you look closely at the Government’s latest list of 105 prioritised projects, a deeply unfair pattern emerges. Just three of these projects, less than three per cent, relate to Community and Vocational Colleges under the ETB model. These are the schools that educated generations of working families and opened doors to opportunity in towns, villages and urban communities across the State. They offered practical, hands-on pathways into employment and further education through metalwork, woodwork, engineering, home economics, construction studies, business skills and apprenticeships. In many places, these schools were not just centres of learning, they were the beating heart of their communities.
“It is striking that Irish-medium schools are under-represented on this list, while primary school projects account for around 45 per cent of the total. Nobody disputes the need for new primary schools, but balance matters. If the Government is serious about protecting and promoting the Irish language, investment must follow rhetoric. Irish-medium education cannot survive on warm words alone. It requires sustained, visible support in bricks and mortar.
“Nobody in Labour opposes new school buildings. We welcome them and we recognise the pressure on school places across the country. But fairness and balance are non-negotiable. When the overwhelming majority of projects bypass ETB schools, the schools that have done the most to lift working-class communities, it sends a clear message about whose education counts and whose does not. That is not acceptable in a Republic that claims to value equality of opportunity.
“For Labour, education is about community, fairness and real choice. The schools that serve working families, rural towns and Irish-language communities should be at the centre of public investment, not treated as an afterthought. The Minister must urgently review this list, explain why ETB schools receive such a small share of support, and commit to rebalancing capital funding so that these schools get the investment they deserve. Labour will continue to press for an education system that works for every child and every community, not just the few at the front of the queue.”