James Geoghegan
Question:537. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Education and Youth to review correspondence (details supplied) regarding an application by a school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29974/26]
View answerTuesday, 28 April 2026
Questions (537)
Written answers
I can confirm to the Deputy, that my department is in receipt of an application for capital funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school in question to repurpose existing school accommodation for a Special education classroom.
The Deputy will be aware that 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 met 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 these projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities.
I can confirm that the school's application is under assessment in this context and the school authorities will be contacted directly when a decision has been made.