Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2026
339. Deputy Aidan Farrelly asked the Minister for Education and Youth if she will provide an update in respect of the NDFA’s project Shannon; if she will clarify the extent to which it is funded; and if she will clarify the hierarchy in which projects contained within project Shannon will be advanced. [32162/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraAs the Deputy will be aware, in July 2025 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. Programme management throughout the period 2026-2030 will optimise delivery options, including the potential phasing of projects to address priority needs in alignment with funding parameters.
The project referred to by the Deputy, Project Shannon is currently at Stage 2a of the architectural design process. A Stage 2a meeting recently took place in April 2026 during which my department's professional and technical team provided technical comments. The design team are currently reviewing this input and once addressed will submit an addendum report to the department for consideration. Once the department is satisfied that all technical comments have been addressed, the campus project for all three schools will be considered for progression to Stage 2b, which is a detailed design stage that includes statutory approvals.
