Micheál Carrigy
Ceist:168. Deputy Micheál Carrigy asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the progress on the project at a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10862/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 11 February 2026
Ceisteanna (168)
Freagraí scríofa
The project to which the Deputy refers is an amalgamation of Meán Scoil Mhuire and St Mels College, which has been devolved for delivery to the Joint Managerial Board (JMB).
The proposed amalgamation of St.?Mel’s College and Meán Scoil Mhuire will provide for the establishment of a new post-primary school with a long-term projected enrolment of 1,200 students, together with 6 special education needs classrooms.
The project scope includes the construction of an extension to the existing school building, along with the refurbishment and reconfiguration of the current accommodation to meet the needs of the new school. The project is currently at Stage 1 of the architectural design process. The tendering process for the appointment of the Design Team is currently ongoing. JMB, as the delivery body will continue to engage directly with the school community to keep it fully informed of progress.
As the Deputy will be aware, the department have recently published the €7.55 billion NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth Sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. 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. In this regard there will be a strong special education dimension to project rollout.
Of the total €7.55 billion investment it is envisaged that circa. €5 billion will be used for project rollout to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings across the Large Scale, Additional Accommodation, Modular, and Annual September Accommodation Needs programmes. Over the course of 2026 and 2027 there will be construction work at circa. 10% of the school estate. These projects will, when completed, provide circa 57,000 additional and modernised school places with a strong SEN focus in all projects.
The department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued rollout of projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, I have also published a list of the 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over 2026 and 2027.
These projects are in addition to €43.46 million in capital funding for Longford schools between 2020 and 2025. Over that period, a total of 15 Schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. There are also currently 2 school projects in County Longford under construction.
The first tranche of 105 school building projects includes 80 large scale and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects. These projects were prioritised with a strong focus on maximising existing capacity and prioritising project rollout to meet the most urgent needs particularly to support special education needs provision.
The department recognises that there are schools with important building projects that are not included in the first tranche of prioritised projects. As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, the department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027 to assess and evaluate the progression of individual projects through the design pipeline having regard to the continual need to maximise existing capacity and determine the prioritised needs going forward. This process will involve engagement with key stakeholders and individual schools and will ultimately inform the next tranches of programme rollout to tender. The department-led Energy and Condition Survey of the school estate, which will be finalised later in 2026, will provide an additional evidence base for assessing priorities.
Based on this ongoing prioritisation process some projects may be added to the list over the course of 2026 and 2027 having regard to their prioritisation and urgency of need and taking account also of the ongoing ability to progress them to tender and construction within the parameters of overall funding. Where appropriate, the department will also assess opportunities to undertake advance enabling works for the most urgent and complex projects to facilitate a smooth progression to construction in 2028 and beyond.
Any interim accommodation requirements will continue to be assessed and considered by the department on a case-by-case basis to determine the prioritised needs and approach for addressing same.
The accommodation needs at the school referred to by the Deputy will be considered as part of the ongoing overall department-led prioritisation process, in consultation with the school’s patron and school authorities.