Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 December 2025
146. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she can give an update on the new build applications and extensions for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70321/25]
View answerThe two schools to which the Deputy refers were approved to enter my department’s pipeline for projects under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) Scheme
The ASA project at the primary school was approved for the provision of one mainstream classroom, a four-classroom Special Educational Needs (SEN) base, and one Special Education Teacher (SET) room. This project is currently at Stage 1 (Preliminary Design) of the architectural design process. Due to an increase in the project brief, a new design team was required, which resulted in a revised delivery schedule. My department are currently awaiting the submission of a stage 1 report.
The ASA project at the post-primary school was approved for the provision of eleven general classrooms, three SET rooms, one multimedia room, one textiles room, one science lab and prep area, three classroom SEN base and the removal of existing prefabs. The project is currently at Stage 1 pending the submission of a Stage 1 report. Project timelines were impacted by the requirement to complete a site acquisition, which was undertaken by MSLETB.
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.
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.
