Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 9 June 2026
838. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the level of funding allocated for school building upgrades and extensions in Longford and Westmeath over the past three years; and the projects currently awaiting approval [42300/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraSince 2020, the Department of Education has provided over €227 million (€162 million since 2023) in capital funding for schools in counties Westmeath and Longford.
Over this period, a total of 48 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. There are currently 10 school projects under construction in counties Westmeath and Longford.
This summer, 8 schools in counties Westmeath and Longford are approved to undergo works as part of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme. In addition to this, 90 special classes in counties Westmeath and Longford have been sanctioned since 2020 including 19 for September 2026.
Last January, I published the €7.55 billion NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for the education and youth sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. This NDP Sectoral Plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs.
Of the total €7.55 billion investment, it is envisaged that approximately €5 billion will be used for project rollout to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings. This project rollout will continue on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, I also published a list of the 105 school building projects in a first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over 2026 and 2027, which includes 1 project in County Longford. These 105 projects were prioritised with a strong focus on maximising existing capacity and prioritising project rollout to meet the most urgent needs particularly to support special education needs provision.
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.
The current status of all projects is set out under item number ten at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/collections/building-works-for-the-construction-extension-and-refurbishment-of-schools/. This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.
