Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 February 2026
142. Deputy Alan Kelly asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason, as part of the National Development Plan and the Government’s recent announcement of 105 schools that will progress to tender and/or construction, as appropriate, over the course of 2026 and 2027, that a school (details supplied) was not included in this list. [10698/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe school in question submitted an application for capital funding under my department's Additional Schools' Accommodation scheme. Since 2020, my department has invested over €176 million in capital funding for Tipperary schools. Over this period, a total of 67 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. There are currently 8 school projects in Tipperary under construction. In addition, 86 new special classes have been opened in Tipperary since 2020 while 14 schools?are approved to?undergo works as part of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme.
As the Deputy is aware, I have recently published the NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth Sectors. 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. Four? school?projects in county Tipperary were included in the 105 prioritised projects in the first tranche of projects to progress to tender or construction over the course of 2026 and 2027. This list of projects were prioritised from those projects in the department’s pipeline which were sufficiently advanced to enable them to go to tender or construction over the course of 2026 and 2027. It includes an extension project at St. Anne’s Special School in Roscrea for example.
A department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027 to assess and evaluate the progression of individual projects through the architectural design pipeline. This process will involve engagement with key stakeholders and individual schools. The department will further engage with the patron regarding how best to address both the school community’s immediate and longer-term requirements in order to ensure it can cater for its enrolments.
