Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 February 2026
49. Deputy Grace Boland asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will commit to increasing the capital budget allocated to the Department of Education and Youth, with a view to ensuring the timely delivery and completion of much-needed school building projects in the coming years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11079/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs part of the NDP Review 2025, Government set out annual sectoral allocations for 2026 to 2030, and overall Government capital expenditure ceilings to 2035. This leads to a total public capital investment of €275.4 billion over the period to 2035. This comprises €202.4 billion in Exchequer Voted capital expenditure from 2026 to 2035.
Of this, €102.4 billion is being allocated for the next five years – an additional €23.9 billion on what was previously allocated in the NDP. A further €10 billion in equity and fund releases is being provided for megaprojects in water, energy and transport. This brings the total additional capital investment to €33.9 billion for the period to 2030.
The agreement of five-year annual sectoral allocations provides multi-year certainty to departments as to their level of capital funding over the next five years. This multi-year certainty has enabled departments to plan for the delivery of their capital investment priorities through to 2030. It also provides visibility on the investment pipeline to enable construction firms to scale capacity and prepare commercial bids to deliver on the planned investment.
The Department of Education have been allocated a capital budget of €7.5 billion over the period 2026 to 2030, which represents a significant increase of 73% over their 2021 to 2025 NDP allocation of just under €4.4 billion. Given the substantial rise in funding the Department are scheduled to receive they are required to remain within this level of capital expenditure over the period.
