Sean Fleming
Ceist:552. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will respond to correspondence (details supplied) regarding a school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6275/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 27 January 2026
Ceisteanna (552)
Freagraí scríofa
I can confirm to the Deputy that my department is in receipt of an application for capital funding under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) from the school in question.
I am also pleased to inform the Deputy that the schools current project to provide 2x Special education classrooms, is nearing completion and is expected to be finished in early March.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of almost 1,400 school building projects along with over 4,000 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.
Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.
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.
The NDP Implementation Plan for the Education and Youth sector along with the first tranche of projects to progress to tender and/or construction during 2026 and 2027 will be published 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.
A Department official has been in contact with the school in relation to the request to retain the rented accommodation that was provided as an interim measure while the ongoing project for 2x Special education classrooms was underway. My department recognises the need for SEN places and to alleviate the pressure in the area, my department has agreed to allow the school to retain the current SEN rental so the school can open its third SEN class in September 2026.