Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegard Naughton.

As he said, the brief for this major school building project is to provide an eight-classroom school with an additional four classroom special educational needs, SEN, base included. The project has been devolved to Louth County Council for delivery. The project is currently at stage 4, that is, construction, of the delivery process. It is envisaged that, pending no unforeseen delays or issues, the estimated completion date will be within the first quarter of 2026. It is great to hear that the Deputy had a site visit and saw with his own eyes how well the construction is proceeding. From his account, it sounds like the project is on track to meet the deadline.

The Department has been actively engaging with the design team and Louth County Council throughout the process and will continue to engage to provide practical advice and assistance on this important project. The Minister for Education and Youth acknowledged that the school previously submitted a request for additional car park spaces which was reviewed by the Department but was not approved.

The design team is now required to construct and progress the project in accordance with the project brief, as agreed in the service level agreement and in accordance with any local authority planning conditions. The number of car parking spaces currently provided for is what is in the planning conditions. What is currently provided for is in line with the approved planning requirements and what happens generally. While I appreciate the Deputy has said the problem could be resolved simply, it sounds like it would require changes to a planning application.

Since 2020, the Department has invested over €6 billion in schools throughout the country under the national development plan, involving the completion of over 1,300 school buildings. 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. About 80% of new special classes in 2025-26 are being facilitated in repurposed classroom accommodation.

In July, the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026 to 2030 under the new national development plan, NDP. As part of this allocation, the Department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. Regarding project roll-out for larger-scale projects and the additional school accommodation scheme, the approach will be to continue to maximise capacity and prioritise the most urgent needs.

The Deputy spoke about a solution for his school put forward by the principal, namely, widening the road and extending the car park. To me, this might require planning permission and would be something he would need to engage on with Louth County Council.

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