Séamus McGrath
Question:570. Deputy Séamus McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the commencement of building works for the new Cork Educate Together Secondary School. [4292/26]
View answerTuesday, 20 January 2026
Questions (570)
Written answers
The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new 600 pupil post-primary school building and accommodation, including classrooms for children with special educational needs.
Department officials and the external project management consultants are currently reviewing the works and site-specific requirements to ensure the tender documents are up to date and in line with the Departments’ technical guidelines documents.
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 the 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 will be published shortly 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.
My Department will continue to keep the school and its patron body updated as the project progresses.