Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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91. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 105 of 29 April 2025, the status of the development of a school (details supplied), currently at stage 2(b); the timeline for the completion of the project; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31299/25]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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My question on the status of the development of a school is specific. I have given the details. It is currently at stage 2(b). I would be grateful if the Minister could give me a more precise timeline for the completion of the project and more specific details.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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At the outset, I recognise this project has been ongoing for some time. The major building project for the school referred to by Deputy Connolly will provide a new 16-classroom primary school with additional classrooms for pupils with special education needs.

Following planning conditions imposed in 2018, a redesign was necessary. At that point, additional capacity was added to the school and subsequent planning was achieved in September 2023.

The project is at an advanced stage of architectural planning, stage 2(b), detailed design, where the design team has secured all statutory applications and is preparing the suite of tender documents. The stage 2(b) submission was received by the Department in March 2025 for review by the multidisciplinary team. This is under way. Once this is complete, the next step will be a meeting of all stakeholders regarding the stage submission report. Since 2020, the Department has invested more than €6 billion in schools throughout the country under the national development plan, NDP, involving the completion of almost 1,400 school building projects.

The Government's support for this investment has delivered real benefits for school communities. A recent Government decision has approved €210 million in supplementary capital funding for the Department to support the provision of special education accommodation and meet school place needs. This brings the total capital allocation for 2025 for the Department to €1.6 billion.

As part of the NDP review process, the Department is engaging with the Department of public expenditure with respect to NDP allocations for the period 2026 to 2030. It is expected that there will be clarity on these allocations over the course of the summer, allowing the Department to plan its capital investment programme for the 2026 to 2030 period in line with prioritised needs and reflecting, as appropriate, wider Government priorities.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I thank the Minister of State. He clearly and honestly acknowledged that this has been going on for some time. Even if we take 2018 as the start, when it was redesigned, we are in the eighth year now in which this school has been in dire need of a new school. I know it is at stage 2(b) and the Minister of State has confirmed the submission was given to the Department in March of this year. Maybe he could tell me how long that process is going to take, when it will come out of that review process and how it will get into the next stage. Will he give me a timeline? Given the background and the extraordinary length of time it has taken, the school needs hope at this point. It has been patient but it needs a timeline for precisely when it will be completed.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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Yes, the submission has been with the Department since March. These reviews take time. I do not have a specific date for the Deputy but I will endeavour to get that information to her as a matter of priority. Both the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and I will follow up to ensure that it is done as speedily as possible. I will endeavour to come back to Deputy Connolly with that timeline and a report as to how the process is going through the Department.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I appreciate that hands-on approach and that the Minister of State is going to come back. However, he can imagine the frustration over such a length of time. The Minister of State said that this takes some time to review. What time roughly? Are we talking six months, three months, nine months? How many are in that? What is the difficulty? What is the delay? Maybe if he cannot come now, if he can do his best now and come back to me in writing in relation to it, that would be very helpful to the school.

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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I will come back to the Deputy on it in writing. The documentation submitted in March, as I understand it, is quite a detailed document and involves a lot of work to make sure it is properly gone through. I give the Deputy a commitment that we will work to make sure it goes through the Department as speedily as possible, and we will come back to her in writing.