Offaly schools to get €1.14m towards air filters and ventilation works

Education Minister Norma Foley has today announced grants totalling €62m which can be used to purchase HEPA air filters or make ventilation improvements in schools.

Minor works grants of €45 million will be allocated to primary schools "as part of additional support in the context of Covid-19," while post-primary schools are being given €17 million.

On a county-by-county basis, schools in Offaly are to be given grants totalling €1.14m.

"This funding for minor works in schools is very welcome during this time of Covid," commented local Green Party Minister of State Pippa Hackett.

"I'm delighted to see Offaly schools receiving €1.14m. Schools can decide for themselves how best to spend this money, given that they all have different needs.

"Keeping our schools open and our children safe is a vital part of our response to the Covid crisis," she added.

Minister Norma Foley said the grants would help schools to "address both their minor works requirements and also to address small-scale ventilation improvements at school level as a short-term mitigation measure, should they require to do so."

Today the Department also issued a guidance document for schools intending to purchase and use HEPA filters (the document can be found here).

The minor works grants to be paid to primary schools range from €6,610 for a 60-pupil school to €14,750 for a 500-pupil school.

At post-primary level, the grants will range from €20,000, for a school of up to 500 pupils, to €35,000 for schools with over 1,000 pupils.