Conor D. McGuinness
Question:128. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps she is taking to increase capacity in primary schools to cater for increasing demand for spaces. [10979/26]
View answerThursday, 12 February 2026
Questions (128)
Written answers
As the Deputy may be aware, in order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a geographical information system, using data from a range of sources, including CSO census data, child benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise and where additional school accommodation is needed at primary and post-primary level.
Pre-school and primary school enrolments at a national level have been in decline for a number of years which in turn is leading to a reduced demand for primary school places in rural areas and many urban areas across the Country. This downward demographic trend is also now apparent at first year post primary level.
While my Department is aware of enrolment pressures and demand for additional school places in some areas, it is important to note that enrolment pressures can be driven by duplications of applications, applications from outside an area, and school of choice factors. Notwithstanding the above, in some areas, demographic pressures and other factors are driving a requirement for additional school places.
Furthermore, major new residential developments have the potential to alter the demand for school places at a local level. In that regard, as part of the demographic demand analysis, my department monitors planning and construction activity in the residential sector. For instance, in response to the large-scale residential developments in Adamstown, South County Dublin, the development of a new 32 classroom primary school building has been included in the first tranche of the NDP Implementation Plan. This development is to progress to construction in 2026/27.
The provision of additional school places can be required in a very small number of areas. Where additional accommodation is required, the Department aims, as much as possible, to cater for this requirement by way of optimising the use of and expanding existing schools rather than establishing new schools. This policy is consistent with wider Government objectives under Project Ireland 2040 for an increased emphasis on compact growth.
My department’s NDP Sectoral Investment Plan 2026-2030 involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. 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.
The first tranche of 105 projects covers the initial two-year period of NDP rollout. The next tranche of projects will be finalised and published afterwards (post 2027) following a stakeholder engagement process to identify the next most urgent priorities. This stakeholder engagement will be undertaken in 2026 and 2027 and will include an assessment of how well existing capacity is maximised and enrolment policies and processes are prioritising local special education provision and mainstream requirements. 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 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 department will continue to liaise with local authorities in respect of their county development plan and any associated local area plans with a view to identifying any potential long-term school accommodation requirements across school planning areas.