John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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87. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to provide the funding to allow all school building projects in Carlow and Kilkenny to move to the next phase of the process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40603/26]

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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I ask about schools in Kilkenny that are on the list waiting to be approved to move forward. I want to raise serious concerns in the school community regarding the Kilkenny City Vocational School, which is a DEIS school. Alongside that there is Coláiste Pobal Osraí. These will form the Kilkenny school campus. We spent €3.5 million on the grounds work. The planning permission expires in 2027 and the lease in 2028. The Minister visited recently, and I would like to hear that this will make progress.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, I have recently published the €7.55 billion NDP sectoral investment plan for the education and youth sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. Of that €7.55 billion investment, €5 billion will be used for project rollout to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings. In this regard, I published a list of the 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over this year and next year, of which four are in Carlow and two are in Kilkenny. These projects were prioritised with a strong focus on maximising existing capacity and prioritising project rollout to meet the most urgent needs. These projects are in addition to the €253 million in capital funding for Carlow-Kilkenny schools between 2020 and 2025. Over that period, a total of 70 schools has been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. There are currently seven school projects in Carlow-Kilkenny under construction. My Department will continue to engage with patrons and schools in Carlow-Kilkenny and across the country to inform targeted and prioritised capital investment. That will include the identification of any urgently required works or capacity needs with stakeholders, and that consultation will commence in June.

With regard to Kilkenny City Vocational School and Coláiste Pobal Osraí, they form part of a single campus development. I had the pleasure of visiting them with Deputies McGuinness and Callaghan, and local representatives. I know there is a devolved delivery to the Kilkenny and Carlow Education and Training Board. The brief for Kilkenny City Vocational School provides for a new post-primary school building with a long-term projected enrolment of 550 pupils, including a two-room special education provision. The brief for Coláiste Pobal Osraí provides for a new post-primary school building with a long-term projected enrolment for 400 pupils. The project is at stage 2B. I will come back in and say more.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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It is extremely important that this project moves forward because it has a huge impact on the schools and their development. The lease expires in 2028, and the planning permission is due to expire in 2027. The Minister is right to say investment has been good in Carlow and Kilkenny but there is always a focus on the ones we are waiting for. The Minister met with the community school in Castlecomer when she was there. I also drew her attention to Church Hill National School and Scoil Mhuire in Mooncoin. Given the numbers and because they are ready to go and are trying to accommodate special needs and so on, it is important that these schools be given a clear indication through the course of this year as to their standing and the possibility for funding. I hope the Minister will engage directly with those schools I have mentioned to ensure they are moved to their next phase, and to keep focus on the Kilkenny school campus.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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There has been significant investment in Carlow and Kilkenny due to the demographic changes there. I am aware that across the country there are many schools. Some of them were happy they were on that list, and others were disappointed that there were not. There is work under way in my Department on a new prioritisation list of schools. There was a conditional energy survey carried out across all schools in the country. That will be completed this year and feed into our new prioritisation list. The Department of education will be contacting patrons shortly for their views on the new prioritisation list and that work will be ongoing.

Obviously, we have an NDP right out to 2030. I could not announce all the projects in one go. In an ideal world, we would have loved to do that. This has to be done on a phased basis. The first tranche was announced and the Department will be working with patrons and schools on the next prioritisation list.

John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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There are capacity issues in some of the schools I have mentioned, like Church Hill National School in Cuffesgrange and Scoil Mhuire in Mooncoin. Then there is the issue of Castlecomer's school, which has 634 students. That project is shovel-ready and the school wants to get on with that work. There has been such a long wait for the Kilkenny school campus. Planning permission is there. Some €3.5 million has already been spent on the groundworks and the planning permission will expire. I keep on emphasising that and will continue to because the school needs to know where it is going before the end of July. It cannot be left until next year for the school to be given some sort of indication, because that will force it back into the planning process. The school will also lose time and see site costs increase. The other interesting thing about schools is the renting of prefabs. This has cost Church Hill National School €480,000 to date. As such, there is a really urgent case for investment in all of those schools.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. In general, the Department works with schools on planning permissions that may be due to expire. That work happens all the time. With the priority list, we look at a number of issues, including: demographic pressures; schools that may not have their own home, in that they may be working out of a sports facility; whether they are ready to proceed to stage 3; whether they are maximising the capacity within their existing school footprint; and, importantly, where there is a focus on special educational needs, SEN, classes. This is a top priority for the Minister of State and me and it feeds into our building projects as well. We want to ensure our children and students can attend their local school. That will require special education classes to be prioritised as part of our building projects.

David Maxwell (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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We will now go back to Parliamentary Question No. 86 from Deputy Ó Muirí.