Mr. Hubert Loftus:

As a general point, which can cover some of the examples as well, we currently have over 300 projects at construction. We have over 200 projects that went to construction in 2025 across large scale, the additional school accommodation scheme and modular programmes. That is €1.5 billion worth of projects at construction currently. As part of the roll-out of the national development plan, a €7.5 billion programme, we envisage probably another €1.3 billion plus cohort of projects going to construction over the course of 2026 and 2027. Taken together, that is almost €3 billion, a record level of funding. Only last week, the Minister announced the summer works scheme of almost 300 projects, a €90 million investment programme. As a general point, and the Minister would be well aware, special needs is a huge area of investment. The Deputy will have seen it in Tipperary and other areas. There is a huge number of special classes and significant roll-out of new special schools including in Nenagh.

On the project the Deputy referenced, the Ursuline Secondary School, the status of all projects is up on our website. We update that every month. That gives a clear picture of where all projects are at. Projects like that are devolved to the school authority for delivery. That project started life, got through the process of stage one and is now at stage 2a. That has only recently come into us. We are reviewing it. The review will determine the next steps, no more than any other project. All projects are considered in the context of the funding available and the national development plan, etc. We have quite a structured process for projects. The scale and complexity of a project dictates how quickly and the relative parameters considered in progressing projects. That is done to comply with the infrastructure guidelines from the Department of public expenditure. We assess them on a clear basis. We have a strong approach with schools generally about maximising existing capacity. They might be originally designed for a certain level but with good timetabling, use of facilities and utilisation, more can be achieved, which is important in the context of facilitating special needs classes and mainstream.