Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 January 2026
509. Deputy Denise Mitchell asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she can provide an update on the status of the proposed new build school for a school (details supplied), which is currently sharing a campus with adult and residential services; if there is a timeline for when works will begin; when works will be completed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5934/26]
View answerThe major project for the school referred to by the Deputy will be delivered under my Departments ADAPT Programme.
ADAPT is an acronym for "Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning and Tendering". The ADAPT Programme uses a professional external Programme Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe during the stages of architectural planning.
The brief for St. Michael’s House Special School is the development of a 20 classroom Special School at Malahide Road, Clontarf, Dublin 3 (Mount Temple Comprehensive School site).
The project is currently at Stage 1 – Preliminary Design which includes reviewing all information provided as part of the Project Brief. It also involves establishing and analysing all site factors and constraints which may impact on the project’s viability.
It is not possible to provide a date for the commencement or completion of the project at this early stage of the 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.
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.
