Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 February 2026
177. Deputy Eoghan Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Youth for a breakdown of the amount spent on applications for school building projects at stage before submitting 2B, that were not on the priority list 2026/2027; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10976/26]
View answerMy department has a large capital programme including in the region of 600 school building projects at pre stage 2b across our large scale and additional accommodation programmes. Due to the substantial volume of projects involved, it is not feasible to provide the details requested within this response. If the Deputy requires further information on a specific project, we can assist further.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects along with over 3,700 small-scale improvement works to meet priority maintenance needs and advance energy efficiency and climate goal.
This significant investment has delivered real benefits for school communities and includes in the region of €768 million in capital funding for Co. Cork schools between 2020 and 2025. Over that period, a total of 157 schools has been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. There are also currently 20 school projects in County Cork under construction.
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. These 105 projects will provide over 27,000 additional and modernised school places a particular priority is the expansion of capacity in our special schools.
This list includes 12 projects in County Cork. Furthermore 35 schools are approved to undergo works as part of the Summer Works Climate Action Scheme.
In addition, since 2020 a total of 332 special classes have been opened in Cork, 26 of which were sanctioned for September 2026
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.
