Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2026
381. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide the plans with timelines and details of type of buildings; the access to the school and a complex (details supplied); and the parking arrangements as well as the effect on the drainage, sewage, water supply, electricity, gas, broadband and so on to the community and local residents. [68340/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra382. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the safety measures that will be put in place to protect the local community during all phases of the building of a new school (details supplied). [68338/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra383. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the effect the building of a new school will have on local areas (details supplied) including during the building phases and the effect after it is finished on the local area. [68337/26]
Amharc ar fhreagra384. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Youth the reason constituents have not been updated on the building of a new school (details supplied). [68336/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 381, 382, 383 and 384 together.
The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently being delivered as part of my Departments Adapt 4 programme - Programme Innovate.
Programme Innovate will be delivered by Integrated Project Teams (IPT) consisting of highly skilled and experienced design professionals, architects, engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors and various other consultants to deliver the projects.
The proposed development is for a new 1,000 classroom post primary school including 6 classrooms for children with special educational needs, on the existing school site.
The project is currently at Stage 2a (Developed Sketch Scheme) and this includes development of the preferred design option to a stage where the project is fully cost planned and can be prepared to lodge for statutory approvals.
The IPT, in conjunction with the school authorities, had early engagement with the local community through meetings with the staff and students at the school, and more recently with information boards displayed in the public Library on Castletymon Road from 09th to 20th September, with opportunity for engagement and feedback with the IPT. Additionally, the IPT have had engagement with the Local Authority as part of the pre-planning process.
My Departments Design Team Procedures (DTPs) outlines the early stages of architectural planning where the IPT focus on assessing the most appropriation options for location and construction of the new school building at the current site, and would have included site survey, site and services investigations, assessing access to services, exploring construction access options etc.
This current stage of the project involves developing the design using the Department’s standard designs and specifications to bring it to a developed design stage and to the point of enabling applications for statutory approvals (including Planning Permission) to be ready for submission to the local authority. Once the IPT application for Planning Permission is validated by the Local Authority, the local community will have access to the Planning Application through the local authority online planning portal and the On-Site notices.
The proposed new school will provide a modern school building for the children in the school planning area, with opportunities for out-of-hours use for the local community with the school authority’s agreement.
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 1,600 school building projects along with over 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. In the region of 85% of new special classes in 2026/27 are being facilitated in repurposed classroom accommodation. This investment has delivered real benefits for school communities.
As part of the NDP Implementation Plan for the education and youth sector, a first tranche of projects to progress to tender and/or construction during 2026 and 2027 was published in January 2026. Prioritisation will continue to identify further tranches of projects to proceed to tender and construction over the NDP period, with stakeholder consultation ongoing.
Our 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.
Since 2020, the Department of Education has provided over €2 billion in capital funding for Dublin schools. Over this period, a total of 300 schools have been upgraded through provision of either a new school building, extension, modular accommodation or climate pathfinder projects. There are 20 school projects to go to tender or construction in 2026 and 2027 were included in the NDP Implementation Plan. There are currently 47 large-scale, extension, modular or climate pathfinder projects in Dublin under construction. There are also 53 projects underway through the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme. In addition, since 2020 a total of 541 special classes have been sanctioned in Dublin, of which 140 were sanctioned for September 2026.
