Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 4 February 2026
582. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth if all school capital building projects that are currently at Stage 3, are included on the priority list of projects in the Sectoral Investment Plan; the list of those schools at Stage 3 that are not included in the plan over 2026 and 2027; when planning permission will expire, in each case, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8494/26]
View answerAs 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. Almost 300 projects are currently under construction, including 38 new school buildings some of which are being delivered in phases
The 105 prioritised projects will progress to tender and/or construction on a rolling basis over the course of 2026 and 2027 and within the context of NDP funding parameters. The timing of project progression will reflect the need to carefully manage the rollout of these projects to construction on a controlled basis to ensure that projects are delivered efficiently, align with the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines and Capital Works Management Framework and remain within the parameters of NDP funding.
The listing includes all projects at tender stage and are ready to proceed to construction over the course of 2026 and 2027. Three other projects that require more work and analysis to be done to ensure the proposed project fully aligns with the current requirements and these are currently being worked through with relevant patrons/schools authorities.
My department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued rollout of these projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, I have also published a list of the 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over 2026 and 2027 with a capital investment of €1.6 billion.
The current status of all projects continues to be set out under item number ten at the following link: www.gov.ie. This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
List of Projects at tender currently not within recently 105 priority projects
|
Roll Number |
School Name |
County |
|
71290M |
Coláiste an Chreagáin |
Galway |
|
18115Q |
S.N. Mhuire |
Offaly |
|
71150T |
Colaiste na Carraige |
Donegal |
