Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 May 2026
167. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on the progress of the accommodation project for a school (details supplied), especially in light of the sustainability report carried out on the school building in January 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40548/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe project to which the Deputy refers, has been devolved for delivery to Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB).
This project is currently at Stage 2B of the architectural design process. This stage allows for detailed design and planning, obtaining necessary statutory permissions and preparation of tender documents. A Stage 2B report has been submitted to my department from LOETB. The report is undergoing a detailed technical and cost review in line with the Public Spending Code. All projects, including this one, are subject to the due diligence requirements of the Public Infrastructure Guidelines. Managing timing, scope, and cost is crucial to staying within budgetary limits for the overall program. Once the review is complete, the outcome will be communicated to LOETB as the delivery body for this project who will continue to engage directly with the school authorities to keep them fully informed.
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 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.
The current status of all projects continues to be 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.
