My department is delivering significant projects and continues to progress further important projects. Since 2020, my department has invested over €7 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,500 school building projects along with circa 4,300 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. This investment has delivered real benefits for school communities.
In the order of 260 to 300 school building projects are on site at any given time, including 29 new school buildings some of which are being delivered in phases. A further seventy projects are at tender stage, including nineteen new school buildings.
This summer, 297 schools are approved to undergo works as part of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme.
In addition, since 2020 a total of 2486 special classes have been sanctioned, of which 584 were sanctioned for September 2026.
The attached table provides a county-by-county breakdown of school building projects completed since 2020 (including funding allocated), projects currently under construction, and projects at planning and design 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.
County by county table
