Naoise Ó Muirí
Ceist:114. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide an update on a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29214/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 22 April 2026
Ceisteanna (114)
Freagraí scríofa
The large scale capital project for the school referred to by the Deputy is the provision of a new 600 pupil school building including all associated ancillary accommodation.
I am pleased to confirm that the project was authorised to proceed to tender on 12 November 2025. The invitation to tender issued on 28 November 2025 through the e-tenders portal. A request for extension to the tender return period was granted.
The school have been granted a 2 classroom SEN unit to be configured within the existing layout. An Addendum was added to the invitation to tender, and the shortlisted parties have been issued a clarification. It is now expected tenders will be returned in the next two weeks. The Addendum relates to the SEN unit.
In July the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026-2030 under the National Development Plan. As part of this NDP allocation my department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project rollout over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.
Since 2020, the Department of Education has provided €1843.91 million in capital funding for Dublin schools. Over this period, a total of 253 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. There are currently 56 school projects in Dublin under construction. Another 20 school projects will go to tender or construction in 2026 and 2027, and this summer, 53 schools are approved to undergo works as part of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme.
In addition, since 2020 a total of 503 special classes have been opened in Dublin, of which 102 were sanctioned for September 2026.
The NDP Implementation Plan for the Education and Youth sector along with the first tranche of projects to progress to tender and/or construction during 2026 and 2027 was published in January 2026. This NDP Implementation Plan will optimise outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional needs.