Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 16 October 2025
226. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide an update on the progress of a development at a secondary school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [56102/25]
View answerThe brief for the major building project referred to by the Deputy is for the delivery of a new 400 pupil post primary school with 3 classrooms for children with special education needs.
This project is planned to be delivered as part of Phase 2 of my Department's ADAPT 4 Programme which uses a professional external Programme Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Integrated Project Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of Architectural Planning, to Tender and Construction.
This programme is being led by Integrated Project Teams consisting of highly skilled and experienced design professionals, architects, engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors and various other consultants to deliver the projects.
The Project Manager was appointed in Q3 2023 and is in the process of preparing documentation for the tender process for the appointment of IPTs for the Phase 2 bundle of projects.
In July the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026-2030 under the National Development Plan. As part of this NDP allocation my department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs.
In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project rollout over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.
My Department is now preparing an NDP implementation plan which is due for publication later in the year. This plan will optimise outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional needs.
My Department will continue to keep the school and its patron body updated on progress and next steps.
