Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 April 2026
118. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide an update in relation to a school building project (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29068/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) for delivery.
The project brief for Coláiste an Phiarsaigh provides for a long term projected enrolment of 750 pupils including four Special Educational Needs (SEN) classrooms.
The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural design process. This allows for detailed design and planning, obtaining the necessary statutory permissions and the preparation of tender documents. Planning permission was granted in November 2025. The department awaits submission of a Stage 2b report. Once received, it will undergo a detailed technical and cost review in line with the Public Spending Code. Managing timing, scope, and cost is crucial to staying within budgetary limits for the overall program.
Since 2020, my department has invested over €6.7 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects along with over 4,000 small-scale improvement works to meet priority maintenance needs and advance energy efficiency and climate goal. In addition, repurposing and optimisation of existing accommodation capacity across the school estate has been a key enabler of timely, local provision of special class capacity in a way that supports best practice in inclusion and integration. Circa 80% of new special classes in 2025/26 are being facilitated in repurposed classroom accommodation.
Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities.
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.
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.
The current status of all projects is 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.
