Aisling Dempsey
Ceist:284. Deputy Aisling Dempsey asked the Minister for Education and Youth when school projects (details supplied) will progress. [68665/25]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 4 December 2025
Ceisteanna (284)
Freagraí scríofa
The first project referred to by the Deputy is a shared education campus project on a greenfield site in Shanlothe, Trim, Co. Meath encompassing Scoil Mhuire Secondary School and Gaelscoil na Bóinne.
The project is devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) as part of a programme of school building projects.
The project brief for Scoil Mhuire Secondary School includes the development of a 1000 pupil post primary school with a 6 classroom education needs (SEN) unit. The project brief for Gaelscoil na Bóinne includes the development of an 8-classroom primary school with a 2 classroom SEN unit.
The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural process, which allows for detailed design/planning, obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and the preparation of tender documents.
Regarding Boyne Community School this project is also devolved for delivery to the NDFA as part of a programme of school building projects. The project brief provides for a 1200 pupil secondary school including 6 class SEN.
The project is currently at Stage 2a of the architectural design process (detailed design). Following the Stage 2a meeting, additional information was requested by the Department. The length of time a project takes to go through each stage varies and depends on a number of factors, including scale and complexity.
It is not possible at this time to give a date for completion of the projects in question. However, the NDFA will continue to engage directly with the school authorities regarding progressing these important projects.
My department is committed to ensuring appropriate school accommodation is available for all children in the Trim area and will in the wider context outlined, ensure that these projects - as for all projects on the school building programme - are subject to the due diligence required under the public Infrastructure Guidelines.
In July, the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026-2030 under the National Development Plan. As part of this NDP allocation my department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs.
In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project rollout over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs. It is planned that circa 80 school building projects will progress to construction across 2026 and 2027 as part of a 2-year rolling programme.
All Government Departments are expected to publish their sectoral NDP Implementation Plans shortly. My department’s plan will optimise outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional needs. This will be the context for assessing all project rollout for the 2026 to 2030 period including in relation to Scoil Mhuire, Gaelscoil na Boinne and Boyne Community College.
The current status of all projects is listed on a county-by-county basis at www.gov.ie. and this is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction