Micheál Carrigy
Question:476. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of an application for a new school building (details supplied). [7488/26]
View answerWednesday, 4 February 2026
Questions (476)
Written answers
The project to which the deputy refers for Gaelscoil Longfoirt has been devolved for delivery to Longford and Westmeath Education and Training Board (LWETB).
The project brief is for a new primary school comprising 12 mainstream classrooms and 2 Special Education Needs classrooms.
The project has recently completed Stage 2a of the architectural design process with Department approval of the Stage 2a report granted in November 2025.
As the Deputy will be aware, I have recently published the €7.55 billion NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth Sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. This NDP Sectoral Plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. In this regard there will be a strong special education dimension to project rollout.
Of the total €7.55 billion investment it is envisaged that circa. €5 billion will be used for project rollout to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings across the Large Scale, Additional Accommodation, Modular, and Annual September Accommodation Needs programmes. Over the course of 2026 and 2027 there will be construction work at circa. 10% of the school estate. These projects will, when completed, provide circa 57,000 additional and modernised school places with a strong SEN focus in all projects.
As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, the department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027 to assess and evaluate the progression of individual projects through the design pipeline having regard to the continual need to maximise existing capacity and determine the prioritised needs going forward. This process will involve engagement with key stakeholders and individual schools and will ultimately inform the next tranches of programme rollout to tender. The department-led Energy and Condition Survey of the school estate, which will be finalised later in 2026, will provide an additional evidence base for assessing priorities.
The accommodation needs at this school will be considered as part of the ongoing overall department-led prioritisation process, in consultation with the school’s patron and school authorities.