Joe Neville
Question:132. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of the proposed three-school campus project in Celbridge (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70800/25]
View answerThursday, 11 December 2025
Questions (132)
Written answers
The Celbridge Campus Project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) as part of a bundled school building programme.
It is currently at Stage 2a of the architectural design process. Stage 2a (the developed design stage) involves the Design Team developing the designs, fully cost planning the campus project and preparing the necessary documentation to facilitate the lodging for statutory approval to Kildare County Council as part of the Stage 2b process.
The length of time a project takes to deliver depends on several factors, including scale and complexity and is subject to the time it takes to progress through the various design stages and the statutory approval process.
My department is committed to ensuring appropriate school accommodation is available for all children in the Celbridge area and will in the wider context outlined, ensure that this project - as for all projects on our school building programme - is subject to the due diligence required under the public Infrastructure Guidelines.
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.
Government departments are currently in the process of publishing their sectoral NDP Implementation Plans. The sectoral plan for the Education and Youth sector will be published next week and the first tranche of projects to progress to construction will be published in January. This NDP Implementation 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.
The current status of all projects is listed on a county-by-county basis at [www.gov.ie]. under item number 10 and this is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.