Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 November 2025
368. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on the planned extension to a school (details supplied) including the possible development of a special school; the timeframes for the project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65338/25]
View answerThe project referred to by the Deputy is devolved for delivery to Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB).
The project brief is to provide an extension to the existing school building, as well as the appropriate refurbishment of those existing buildings to be retained for ongoing educational use. There are no plans to develop a special school on this site at present.
The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural process, which allows for detailed design/planning, obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and the preparation of tender documents.
While at this early stage it is not possible to provide a timeline for completion of the project. WWETB will be engaging directly with the school authority to keep it informed of progress.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.
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 November. 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.
