Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 5 February 2026
213. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Education and Youth if plans have advanced for a new school (details supplied) on the new site offered free of charge to the State, within the town boundaries of Milford; and if she will discuss the unacceptable conditions for the children, teachers and staff at the school with her two predecessors in her role, who both visited the school and witnessed those conditions for themselves. [8779/26]
View answerMy department received an application for large scale capital funding from the school referred to by the Deputy. The department has corresponded extensively with the school following this application including a recent meeting with the Patron and other school representatives. The Patron undertook to review enrolment patterns in the area including the sustainability of a significant cohort of the school's current enrolment coming from areas served by other schools with existing capacity. The school already received significant capital funding in its current location, although it has also refused proposed investment in the existing school which the Department believes would have dealt with some of the more immediate issues for the school pending the requested review of its enrolment policy and its decision to act as a base for support teachers in the area.
All applications from schools for major capital works must be considered in the context of capacity requirements and climate action commitments. The plan for identifying opportunities to transform existing schools at national scale will be informed by the outcome of an Energy and Condition survey of all schools which is due for completion this year. The subsequent analysis of this significant amount of data will help determine priorities going forward in relation to retrofit and refurbishment projects. The process may ultimately identify a requirement for the replacement of some accommodation, but this is not expected to be widespread. This overall process is particularly valuable in facilitating a proportionate assessment of a school’s accommodation upgrade needs relative to all other schools and allow an effective prioritisation of capital investment.
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.
My department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued rollout of 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.
The accommodation needs at the school referred to by the Deputy will be considered as part of the ongoing overall department-led prioritisation process, in consultation with the school’s patron and school authorities. Any interim requirements will be considered by the Department in the normal manner (e.g. Emergency Works Scheme).
This allows the Department to keep a strong focus on the provision of additional capacity to cater for demographics, new housing developments and the rollout of additional special classes for children with additional needs. This approach reflects the Department’s fundamental objective of ensuring the availability of a school place for every child.
