I propose to take Questions Nos. 314 and 315 together.
The schools referred to were approved to enter my Department’s pipeline of school buildings under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme for various projects providing accommodation including mainstream classrooms, special education classrooms and specialist rooms. The projects are devolved for delivery.
The delivery of a school building project involves five core stages:
Stage 1 – Preliminary Design
Stage 2 – Design Development.
• Stage 2a: Develop design, cost the project, and prepare for statutory approvals.
• Stage 2b: Secure planning permission and prepare tender documentation.
Stage 3 – Tender Action.
Stage 4 – Construction.
Stage 5 – Handover and Final Account.
The attached table shows the progression of each project through the various stages and provides the information requested by the Deputy for the listed Offaly schools. With regard to the Deputy's query on estimated capital allocations for each project, the Department cannot release cost details at this stage, as such information is commercially sensitive.
A definitive timeline for completion cannot be provided for projects that have not yet proceeded to construction. The progression of such projects is dependent on a range of contingent factors that can arise at each stage of the delivery process, including design development, statutory approvals, procurement, and the availability of construction capacity, all of which must be managed within the capital funding allocations set out under the National Development Plan In addition, for projects that secure planning permission before they can advance to tender or construction, the duration of the planning process is outside the Department’s control and can vary depending on local authority timelines.
As 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.
The 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. This list includes 4 projects in Co. Offaly.
These projects are in addition to €107.03 million in capital funding for Offaly schools between 2020 and 2025. Over that period, a total of 30 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. There are also currently 4 school projects in Offaly under construction. In addition, since 2020 a total of 47 special classes has been opened in Offaly, of which 12 were sanctioned for September 2026.
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.
Based on this ongoing prioritisation 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. Where appropriate, the department will also assess opportunities to undertake advance enabling works for the most urgent and complex projects to facilitate a smooth progression to construction in 2028 and beyond.
The accommodation needs at these schools will be considered as part of the ongoing overall department-led prioritisation process, in consultation with the schools’ patrons and school authorities.
ASA Offaly Projects
