Niall Collins
Ceist:559. Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Education and Youth if a response will issue to correspondence (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6344/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 27 January 2026
Ceisteanna (559)
Freagraí scríofa
The school referred to by the Deputy, was approved to enter the Department’s pipeline of school buildings under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme for a project providing two special education needs classrooms. The project is devolved to the school authority for delivery.
I can confirm that the Stage 2b (post planning) report was submitted to the Department and is currently being reviewed in accordance with the requirements of the Public Spending Code. All projects, including this one, are subjected to the required due diligence as specified in the Department's infrastructure guidelines. The ongoing review of this school building project is also being considered as part of the Department's NDP.
The main purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme is to provide for unforeseen emergencies that impact on school buildings. An emergency is 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 scheme 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. The scheme also provides funding to facilitate inclusion and access for special needs pupils on receipt of an enrolment application from such a pupil and/or for staff members. Applications must meet the criteria outlined in Circular 0068/2020 and include all relevant supporting documentation.
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.