Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 February 2026
184. Deputy Louise O'Reilly asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason Balbriggan was excluded in the recently published list of schools to receive building upgrades given its rapidly expanding young population; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10935/26]
View answerMy 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 criteria for identifying the first tranche of 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 next tranche of projects will be finalised and published afterwards (post 2027) following a stakeholder engagement process to identify the next most urgent priorities.
A 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. 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.
Based on this ongoing process some projects may be added to the list over the course of 2026 and 2027 having regard to their prioritisation and urgency of need and taking account also of the ongoing ability to progress them to tender and construction within the parameters of overall funding.
My departments total capital expenditure to date since 2020 in Balbriggan was €35.66 million.
My department will continue to engage with patrons regarding projects at schools under their patronage. As part of this engagement any interim accommodation needs or required works will be explored. This engagement will also inform the next tranche of prioritised projects.
