Written Answers Nos. 127-137
128. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update regarding a new campus and new buildings for a school (details supplied), given the school has been operating out of temporary buildings and prefabs for 18 years; the reason for the delay in the completion of a new campus; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5012/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe project referred to by the Deputy is part of the Celbridge Campus project that has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) as part of a bundled school building programme (Project Shannon). There are three schools within this campus project including Scoil Naomh Padraig.
The brief for Scoil Naomh Padraig includes the provision of 24 mainstream classrooms and 4 SEN classrooms.
The project is currently at Stage 2a of the architectural design process. Stage 2a (the developed design stage) involves the Design Team developing the designs, fully cost planning the campus project and preparing the necessary documentation to facilitate the lodging for statutory approval to Kildare County Council as part of the Stage 2b process.
The length of time a project takes to deliver depends on several factors, including scale and complexity and is subject to the time it takes to progress through the various design stages and the statutory approval process.
I can confirm that I have asked department officials, the NDFA and the LDA to engage on this project. The NDFA will continue to engage directly with the school authority to keep them fully informed of all progress on this important project.
In July 2025, 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.
The NDP Implementation Plan for the Education and Youth sector and the first tranche of projects to progress to construction will be published by my department shortly. This NDP Implementation 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.
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.
129. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a plan is in place to re-open the sensory room in a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5013/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.
An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.
The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope works to address the emergency situation. The EWS is intended to remedy an emergency situation and usually provides only an interim measure until a permanent solution can be delivered under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) which deals with upgrade works to the school.
The school in question submitted a number of applications for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for life safety system, fabric defects and roof works. The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works required to remedy an emergency situation and, on this basis, the school was advised to submit a revised scope of works with an accompanying itemised cost breakdown.
Once this has been received the EWS team will review the revised application and will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware of the urgent nature of the works required and will keep the school informed throughout the process.
130. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department would consider replacing the current, failing pre-fabricated building units in a school (details supplied), with a fit-for-purpose temporary structure as an interim emergency measure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5014/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe project referred to by the Deputy is part of a campus project that has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) as part of a bundled school building programme (Project Shannon). There are three schools within this campus project including this school.
The brief for the school includes the provision of 24 mainstream classrooms and 4 SEN classrooms.
The project is currently at Stage 2a of the architectural design process. Stage 2a (the developed design stage) involves the Design Team developing the designs, fully cost planning the campus project and preparing the necessary documentation to facilitate the lodging for statutory approval to the county council as part of the Stage 2b process.
The length of time a project takes to deliver depends on several factors, including scale and complexity and is subject to the time it takes to progress through the various design stages and the statutory approval process. . However, the NDFA will continue to engage directly with the school authority to keep them fully informed of progress on this important project.
In July 2025, 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(NDP). 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.
The NDP Implementation Plan for the Education and Youth sector and the first tranche of projects to progress to construction will be published by my department shortly. This NDP Implementation 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.
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.
The school in question has submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS).
The purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.
An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.
The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope works to address the emergency situation. The EWS is intended to remedy an emergency situation and usually provides only an interim measure until a permanent solution can be delivered under the Summer Works Scheme (SWS) which deals with upgrade works to the school.
The school in question submitted a number of applications for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for life safety system, fabric defects and roof works. The EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works required to remedy an emergency situation and, on this basis, the school was advised to submit a revised scope of works with an accompanying itemised cost breakdown.
Once this has been received the EWS team will review the revised application and will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware of the urgent nature of the works required and will keep the school informed throughout the process.
131. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education and Youth the steps her Department is taking to reduce the number on waiting lists for second-level education in north Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5017/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can assure the Deputy that the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority of mine.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €397 million in school infrastructure across County Kildare. The department is continually planning for and investing in existing and new schools to ensure that every child in the State has access to a school place.
Furthermore, the data sharing arrangements that were in place for the 2025/26 admissions process have been put in place again for the 2026/27 admissions process in school planning areas that are experiencing enrolment pressures, including areas in north Kildare. The admissions data provided by schools will allow the department to analyse duplicate applications as there can be significant overlap in areas.
The Deputy will appreciate that there can often be significant overlap across areas and schools, and the nature of the admissions processes is quite complex. As a result, there can be multiple iterations, where applicants may accept a place but subsequently be offered and accept a place at a second school, freeing up capacity at the first school accepted. However, similar to previous years, my department will continue to work closely with patrons and schools in order to ensure that all pupils in north Kildare will receive an offer of a school place.
My department's main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area can, between them, cater for all pupils seeking school places in the area. In relation to school admissions, it is the responsibility of the managerial authorities of all schools to implement an enrolment policy in accordance with the Education Act, 1998.
Parents have the right to choose which school to apply to and where the school has places available the pupil should be admitted. However, in schools where there are more applicants than places available a selection process may be necessary. This selection process and the enrolment policy on which it is based must be non-discriminatory and must be applied fairly in respect of all applicants. However, this may result in some pupils not obtaining a place in the school of their first choice.
I want to assure the Deputy that my department will continue to work to ensure a school place for every child in north Kildare.
132. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide a list of locations for the construction of new school buildings, excluding extensions, for existing schools for the year 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5024/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra133. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide a list of all new extensions to existing school buildings for the year 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5025/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra134. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth to list the locations of the construction of new school buildings, excluding extensions to existing schools for the year 2026, on a county-by-county breakdown, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5078/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra135. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide a list of all new extensions to existing school buildings for the year 2026, on a county-by-county breakdown, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5079/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 132, 133, 134 and 135 together.
Government departments are currently in the process of publishing their sectoral NDP Implementation Plans. The sectoral plan for the Education and Youth sector will be published shortly and the first tranche of projects to progress to construction will be published in January 2026. The details the Deputy has requested will be provided in the publication. Furthermore, the current status of all projects is set out under item number ten at the following link ([www.gov.ie]). This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
In July 2025, 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. Building on this 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 requirements.
In delivering Large-Scale projects and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance, and to provide additional capacity through a targeted and prioritised rollout of projects over the 2026–2030 period to meet the most urgent needs.
My department’s NDP Implementation 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 an area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional requirements.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects along with over 3,700 small-scale improvement works to meet priority maintenance needs and advance energy efficiency and climate goal. In addition, repurposing, and optimisation of existing accommodation capacity across the school estate has been a key enabler of timely, local provision of special class capacity in a way that supports best practice in inclusion and integration. Circa 80% of new special classes in 2025/26 are being facilitated in repurposed classroom accommodation. This significant investment has delivered real benefits for school communities.
136. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he or any of his officials have used artificial intelligence to write speeches, produce social media content for his Department, or to issue responses to parliamentary questions, since he took office; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4589/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department is guided by relevant legislation, policies and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in respect of all matters related to the use or operation of artificial intelligence. All applications and platforms used or operated by my Department must be in line with relevant policies and be consistent with advice provided by the NCSC.
Neither I nor officials from my Department have used artificial intelligence to write speeches, produce social media content for the Department, or to issue responses to parliamentary questions in the period since I took office as Minister on 23 January 2025.
137. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if his Department has a paid subscription with a social media company (details supplied). [4607/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department does not have a paid subscription with the social media platform referenced.
