Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 February 2026
528. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on construction commencement for the 32-classroom school earmarked for a school (details supplied); the likely timescale for opening; the timescale for temporary accommodation being provided on the fourth primary school site in the interim; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14532/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe major project for school referred to by the Deputy will be delivered under the Departments ADAPT Programme.
The project had previously been devolved to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) for delivery as part of a programme of school building projects. This school was in the bundle referred to as Project Lee.
The brief for this project is for the development of a new build 32 classroom primary school with additional classrooms for children with Special Educational Needs, including a GP Hall and other ancillary accommodation on a new site at Tandy’s Lane Village in Adamstown.
A replacement Design Team was appointed in 2024.
The outgoing Design Team had submitted an amended planning application to the Local Authority, and grant of planning was received in June 2024 , with 9 conditions.
The Department received the handover of all design documentation related to the project from the outgoing design team. Following receipt of this information and a due diligence review, the replacement design team commenced Stage 2(b) Detailed Design, which includes the preparation of the Stage(b) report. The Stage 2(b) report was submitted to the Department for review in July 2025 and is currently under review. In parallel with completion of the Stage 2(b) documentation, the Design Team completed the prequalification process, to establish a shortlist of suitably qualified contractors.
My Department is currently considering interim accommodation needs for the school for 2026/27 and is in ongoing contact with the patron in this regard. My Department expects to confirm the position to the patron very shortly.
As the Deputy will be aware, I 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.
My 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, 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. This list includes the project at Adamstown Castle ETNS and 19 other projects in County Dublin.
These projects are in addition to €1,794.95 million in capital funding for Dublin schools between 2020 and 2025. Over that period, a total of 244 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 64 school projects in Dublin 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 Adamstown Castle ETNS with respect to the progression of its project to tender.
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.
2(b) report and tender documents.
