Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 February 2026
111. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Education and Youth whether her Department has received an offer from the HSE for a building beside a school (details supplied); and whether it will accept this offer, given the school's need for additional space. [15220/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI can confirm to the deputy that an application under the department’s Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) Scheme has been received from the school in question for special class accommodation.
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.
Of the total €7.55 billion investment it is envisaged that circa. €5 billion will be used for project roll-out to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings. This project roll-out will continue 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 were prioritised with a strong focus on maximising existing capacity and prioritising project roll-out to meet the most urgent needs particularly to support special education needs provision.
In general, demographics have been falling at primary level and are due to continue to decrease. Therefore, the department considers it prudent to maximise the use of existing spare accommodation capacity at primary level in the first instance, before considering any applications for further accommodation needs.
The department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued roll-out of projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities.
I can advise the deputy that the department has recently received a proposal from the HSE with regard to a building beside the school and this is currently under consideration. The department will be in further contact with the school patron on this matter as soon as possible.
