Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 February 2026
68. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on an extension for a school (details supplied); when the project will move to construction stage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12984/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) as part of a programme of school building projects (Project Boyne).
The brief for the project comprises of the development of a new build Post Primary school to accommodate a long-term projected enrolment of 1,000 pupils and will include a 6 classroom Special Education Needs base.
The project is currently at an advanced point within Stage 3 of the architectural design process, the Tender Stage.
As the Deputy will be aware, the department has 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.
The department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued rollout of these 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 the department has also published a list of the 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over 2026 and 2027. This list includes the project at Colaiste Chraobh Abhann and 2 other projects in County Wicklow.
These projects are in addition to the €254.93 million in capital funding for Wicklow schools between 2020 and 2025. Over that period a total of 42 Wicklow 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 8 school projects in Wicklow under construction.
The 105 prioritised projects will progress to tender and/or construction on a rolling basis over the course of 2026 and 2027 and within the context of NDP funding parameters. The timing of project progression will reflect the need to carefully manage the rollout of these projects to construction on a controlled basis to ensure that projects are delivered efficiently, align with the requirements of the Infrastructure Guidelines and Capital Works Management Framework, and remain within the parameters of NDP funding.
Department officials will continue to engage closely patron bodies, management bodies and schools with respect to the timing of the progression of projects to tender and/or construction over the period 2026 to 2027. This will include continued engagement with Colaiste Chraobh Abhann with respect to the progression of its project to construction.
The current status of all projects continues to be set out under item number ten at the following link: www.gov.ie. This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
