Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 April 2026
320. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education and Youth for any update regarding the Educate Together School that is planned for a site (details supplied); and if there is a timeframe for the proposed building. [31782/26]
View answerThe major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new 16 classroom primary school and accommodation, including 2 classrooms for children with special educational needs.
The project currently has planning permission and is being brought to the level of employer-led design with a Design Team assigned to do so under the supervision of the department’s project manager.
The process of appointing the Design Team from the department’s Frameworks of Consultants was completed in September 2023 and following their due diligence review, the design team are currently completing Stage 2(b) of the architectural design process. Stage 2(b) involves detailed design and the preparation of tender documentation. The next stage, subject to relevant Stage 2(b) approvals, will be Stage 3 tender stage. The period of time it takes to progress through each of the stages varies from project to project depending on its size and complexity and can often take longer than indicated. Enabling works will be required for this project prior to project progressing to stage 3.
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.
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. 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 this project referred to be the Deputy.
The 105 prioritised projects will progress to tender and/or construction on a rolling basis over the course of 2026 and 2027 and within the context of NDP funding parameters. The timing of project progression will reflect the need to carefully manage the rollout of these projects to construction on a controlled basis to ensure that projects are delivered efficiently, align with the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines and Capital Works Management Framework and remain within the parameters of NDP funding.
Department officials will continue to engage closely patron bodies, management bodies and schools with respect to the timing of the progression of projects to tender and/or construction over the period 2026 to 2027.
The Department will continue to liaise with the school’s patron body in relation to the school’s interim accommodation needs pending delivery of the permanent school building and provide updates on progress and next steps.
