Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 May 2026
132. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the consideration that has been given to including additional schools to the list of 105 prioritised large-scale and additional school accommodation projects on the National Development Plan school building rollout; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40742/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe 105 projects prioritised to proceed to tender and/or construction across 2026 and 2027 represent a first tranche of large scale, extension and modular projects. However, further tranches will be prioritised to proceed at a later stage over what is a five year NDP plan with a total investment of €7.55 billion.
The projects selected for the initial tranche were already at Stage 3 (tender stage) and the most urgent projects at Stage 2b (detailed design) that had planning permission. Projects that were not already at this stage of readiness were not eligible for consideration for the initial tranche. The Stage 2b projects selected to progress were identified as meeting the most urgent requirements from a special education, demographics or building condition perspective.
As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, a department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027. This will include engagement with key stakeholders, including meetings with patrons in June. The department-led Energy and Condition Survey of the school estate, which will be finalised later in 2026, will provide an additional evidence base for assessing priorities. A next tranche of projects to proceed to tender is expected to be announced in 2027.
Engagement with individual schools will also continue and will include consideration of issues such as any interim accommodation requirements and, in some cases, advancing enabling works to facilitate smooth progress to construction at a later stage.
It is important to note that the 105 projects on the initial NDP priority list represent a subset of the overall school building programme. In total, there are 260-300 projects under construction at any one time. Over the course of 2026, some 1,000 school projects of varying scales will be under construction. In addition to large scale, extension and modular projects, this includes climate action projects, summer works and repurposing of rooms for special education classes.
Since 2020, the Department of Education and Youth has provided over €460 million in capital funding for schools in counties Wicklow and Wexford. Over this period, a total of 106 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. 3 school projects in county Wicklow and 1 project in county Wexford to go to tender or construction in 2026 and 2027 were included in the NDP Implementation Plan. There are currently 21 school projects under construction in counties Wicklow and Wexford.
This summer, 14 schools in counties Wicklow and Wexford are approved to undergo works as part of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme. In addition to this, 41 special classes in counties Wicklow and Wexford have been sanctioned for September 2026.
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.
