Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 February 2026
171. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Youth based on the criteria she has published as the basis for the school construction projects announced in January 2026, the reason no school in the Wicklow-Wexford constituency was found to have met the criteria; and based on the ranking assessment that was indicated, to outline where all schools in the constituency currently seeking extensions or refurbishment are ranked. [10931/26]
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. 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. The first tranche of 105 projects covers the initial two-year period of NDP rollout. This list includes 1 project in County Wexford and 3 projects in Wicklow.
These projects are in addition to €174.6 million in capital funding for County Wexford schools and €254.93 million in capital funding for County Wicklow schools between 2020 and 2025. Over that period, a total of 58 schools in County Wexford and 42 schools in County Wicklow have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. There are also currently 7 school projects in County Wexford and 8 schools projects in County Wicklow under construction.
The criteria for identifying the first tranche of 105 prioritised projects to go to construction / tender in 2026 and 2027 included the condition of the school, projects in areas with capacity pressures, growing demographics and projects in the pipeline for a long time.
The 105 prioritised projects consist of 80 large-scale and ASA (additional school accommodation) projects along with 25 projects to be delivered under the Modular Accommodation Programme.
The 80 large-scale and ASA projects are estimated to cost just under €1.6bn.
Of the 80 projects,
• 45 projects that are already at tender stage (Stage 3)
• 35 projects that have planning permission and are at pre-tender stage (Stage 2b).
Regarding the 45 projects that are currently already at tender stage (Stage 3), these projects are being progressed on a rolling basis to ensure that the Department of Education continues to operate within NDP funding parameters. These projects include 19 new school buildings of which the majority are either special schools or primary/post-primary schools that are currently operating from interim accommodation and have an urgent need for permanent accommodation.
Regarding the 35 projects that currently have planning permission and are at pre-tender stage (Stage 2b), these have been prioritised to meet urgent requirements from a special needs perspective or to provide additional capacity to cater for demographics or to address very significant condition issues at the schools. These projects include new school buildings for 12 schools – of which the majority of these schools are either special schools or primary/post-primary schools that currently are operating from interim accommodation and have an urgent need for permanent accommodation. It is envisaged that these projects will be progressed to tender over the course of 2026 and 2027 and within the context of NDP funding parameters.
The 25 modular projects primarily relate to additional SEN capacity for the 2026/27 school year. The number of modular projects is set to increase as further NCSE sanctions are issued. With over 260 SEN classes already approved for 2026/2027, additional projects will be prioritised to facilitate their opening through the Modular and SEN repurposing programmes.
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 current status of all projects is 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.
