Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 November 2025
278. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the Stage 1 review meeting will be held for the development of a new school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62521/25]
View answerThe joint major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an early stage of architectural planning - Stage 1 – Preliminary Design, which includes an assessment of the site and location suitability, and initial sketch scheme. This project is being delivered as part of the Departments ADAPT Programme.
The ADAPT Programme uses a professional external Project Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of Architectural Planning to Tender and Construction.
The project brief is for the delivery of 2 new replacement 24 classroom primary schools and classrooms for pupils with special educational needs, at the existing site in Renmore, the demolition of the existing buildings, and removal of the current temporary accommodation.
The Stage 1 site assessment and proposed design options were under review by the Design Team. The Design Team had also conducted a further review of all decant options within the red line boundary of the current school and have submitted a Stage 1 Addendum report to my Department for consideration.
Upon completion of the review, my Department will advise both schools and their design team regarding project progression.
It will not be possible to provide a timeframe for the progression of the project to tender and construction stages until such time as the necessary statutory approvals have been secured.
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. It is planned that circa 80 school building projects will progress to construction across 2026 and 2027 as part of a 2-year rolling programme.
All Government departments are expected to publish their sectoral NDP Implementation Plans in November. My department’s 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.
