Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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7. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if further consideration will be given by her Department to a refused additional school accommodation scheme application for a school in light of the school’s projected increase in enrolment numbers and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51363/26]

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Will further consideration be given by the Department to a decision to refuse an application for the additional school accommodation scheme from a school in light of the school's projected increase in enrolment numbers?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme for an additional temporary classroom in 2025. This school had previously been approved for a permanent extension under the ASA scheme in 2021 for a two-classroom special education needs unit and one mainstream classroom. The project is devolved to the school for delivery and my Department is currently awaiting a submission of the stage 1 design report from the school. The school subsequently applied in 2024 for reconfiguration of an existing classroom to cater for a second special class pending completion of the permanent extension project. The Department approved this application and it has already been delivered. The NDP implementation plan for the education and youth sector 2026 to 2030 was published in January 2026. This NDP implementation plan includes a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity across the school estate and also ensuring that schools' admissions policies and processes are targeted at meeting local mainstream and special class requirements. Available funding must be prioritised where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient along with ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money and meets functional needs.

The school's application for interim classroom accommodation is parallel to the delivery of its traditional building project that has been assessed, including in the context of available capacity in the local area. It is the Department's position that the school has sufficient accommodation within the existing school buildings to cater for its local demand through the management of its enrolments, in line with its current capacity. In the Youghal school planning area, where the school referenced is located, there are 23% fewer junior infants than there were in 2020. All 14 primary schools in the school planning area indicate capacity to enrol more pupils. The proposal for interim accommodation in this context is not therefore an effective prioritisation of NDP funding. This position has been explained to the school.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for her response. I am unsure if she is familiar with the history of Kilcredan National School. It has been the central point of three smaller parish schools - Ladysbridge, Kilcredan and Ballyburden - since they merged in the 1970s. Kilcredan is a popular rural school catering for the families of several local parishes. The population of these parishes continues to increase, with recent development of many new housing estates and more planned. Due to the increased enrolment, an extra teacher but not an extra classroom was sanctioned last September. As a result, 14 children were accommodated in a learning support room which had a knock-on effect on the school's SEN provision. This summer, 31 children finished in the school, with 48 expected to start in September.

An additional school accommodation scheme application was refused on the basis that Kilcredan national school has sufficient accommodation within the existing school buildings to cater for its local demand. The school itself disagrees and has raised serious concerns that children entering the school will likely have to be accommodated in the hall. This would have a negative impact on the well-being and physical activity and the movement breaks of the children in the school's special classes. Therefore, can the Minister and her Department officials liaise with the school to see what can be done to ensure adequate space for Kilcredan pupils?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The Department funded a substantial extension and refurbishment in 2014 of this school. This included six new classrooms, special education rooms, a GP hall, a new basketball court and a new carpark. The existing building was also completely refurbished. The school was subsequently approved for a further extension under the ASA scheme in 2021, to provide a two SEN classroom unit and one additional mainstream classroom. This project is devolved to the school authority for delivery and is at stage 1 of architectural design and planning. As the Deputy knows, the school was also approved for an SEN repurposing project in 2024, to reconfigure an existing room to cater for a second special education class, pending the provision of that new permanent extension. A further application for rental of interim accommodation to cater for a mainstream class was refused in May of this year, on the grounds that there is already sufficient capacity in the area and the responsibility of the school to manage its enrolments to suit its capacity in that context. In the Youghal area, we have to look at the capacity within the planning school area as part of our prioritisation process.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for her response. There have been some positive developments recently with the approval of a safe routes to school programme application. This was good news for the school as it will greatly help its future expansion. However, the problem is the expansion and extra development within the parishes I was speaking about, and the need for local children to go to those schools. The Minister mentioned there is a space in Youghal but, as she knows, people like to attend the school they live close to. However, with legitimate space concerns and a steady increase in enrolment numbers, this case requires the particular attention of the Department in the short term. The school is understandably disappointed at the Department's position on providing additional accommodation as it awaits proposed expansion. I have written directly to the Minister to highlight this. With this in mind, I ask her to provide an update on the progress of the long-term proposal for Kilcredan National School, which would see the construction of one much-needed mainstream classroom and two SEN classes.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The information I have to date is the project is devolved to the school authority for delivery and it is currently at stage 1 of the architectural design and planning. I can give the Deputy more detail if he needs it. Since 2020, the Department has provided more than €796 million in capital funding for Cork schools. Over this period a total of 168 schools have been upgraded, either through the provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or the provision of modular accommodation. Some 12 school projects to go to tender or construction this year or next were included in the NDP implementation plan. There are currently 18 school projects in Cork under construction. This summer we have 35 schools which were approved to undergo works as part of the climate action summer works programme. In addition, since 2020, 306 special classes have been sanctioned in Cork, and the Minister of State beside me is very aware of this. Some 66 were sanctioned for September 2026.