Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 20 January 2026
504. Deputy Jennifer Whitmore asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of the long-planned extension project at a school (details supplied) including the construction of an additional classroom and an additional needs unit; when the school will be given approval to proceed to tender, given that planning permission and Department funding are already in place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3556/26]
View answerThe school was approved to enter my Department’s pipeline of school buildings under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme for a project providing one mainstream classroom and one Special Education classroom. The project is devolved to the school authority for delivery.
I can confirm that the Stage 2b (post planning) report was submitted to my Department and is currently being reviewed from both a technical and cost perspective in accordance with the requirements of the Public Spending Code. All projects, including this one, are subjected to the required due diligence as specified in the Department's infrastructure guidelines.
In July 2025, 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.
The NDP Implementation Plan for the Education and Youth sector and the first tranche of projects to progress to construction will be published by my Department shortly. 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 ongoing review of this school building project is being considered as part of the Department's NDP.
