Sarah O'Reilly (Aontú)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this important matter. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. I ask for a clear timeline for the completion of the long-awaited expansion to Bailieborough Community School in County Cavan. This school has rightly been described as being the victim of its own success. That is good. My Cavan colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, raised the issue with the Taoiseach as far back as 2020, pointing out the pressure on space and the impact on students and staff. At that time, the school already had over 650 students enrolled. Today, enrolment has reached 700.

Five years ago, €2 million was approved for an extension to provide additional classrooms, a multimedia room, a new science laboratory and preparation area. In March 2021, further accommodation was approved under the additional school accommodation scheme. This approval included four general classrooms, four special education rooms, an art and music room, a science laboratory, a library and dining facilities. This shows the Minister of State the extent of the need required in Bailieborough Community School. In December 2024, planning permission was granted for a significant three-storey extension. We are five years on from funding approval announcements and we still have not broken ground yet. I am curious as to why there is not more urgency when it comes to advancing this project. Now that planning permission has been approved, I would expect to see faster progression of commencement works on the extension. I understand that the Department is awaiting the submission of the stage 2b report from the design team.

The school has made two requests to the Department in June and August for the design team to commence the prequalification process of the project, but it was denied both times. Time is money when it comes to increasing costs, be that inflation or year-on-year increases in the cost of material labour. In that context, I genuinely cannot understand why, other than for nonsensical bureaucratic reasons, this process cannot commence. I know the Department has to follow due diligence, but we are almost a year on from when planning permission was granted and we have no clear idea as to when we can expect to see the extension completed. Is the Minister of State able to confirm a timeline for completion in order that we will not be left wondering?

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator O’Reilly for raising this matter because it gives me the opportunity to update the House, on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Helen McEntee, on the current position regarding the new building project for Bailieborough Community School, Virginia Road, Bailieborough, County Cavan.

The project referred to was originally approved to enter the Department of Education and Youth’s pipeline for school building projects under the additional school accommodation, ASA, scheme to provide four general classrooms and two specialist rooms. However, following further engagement with the school and a review of the accommodation requirements, the scope of the project was reassessed. On foot of this review, the approved brief was expanded to provide eight general classrooms, four special education tuition rooms, one music room, one textiles room, one art room, one project store, one multimedia room, two science laboratories with one preparation area, one library and a general purpose dining hall, along with reconfiguration of the existing music room into a mainstream classroom. The project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority.

The stage 1 early design report was submitted to Department of Education officials in late 2021. Following a period of communication and clarification with the school, the Department undertook a comprehensive review of the project from both a technical and cost perspective in accordance with the requirements of the public spending code. Subsequently, approval to advance this project to stage 2a with the incorporation of comments and recommendations from the Department was granted in quarter 4 of 2022.

A stage 2a developed design report was received by the Department in quarter 3 of 2023 and reviewed by the Department with approval to progress to stage 2b planning granted in quarter 2 of 2024, a matter to which the Senator already referred. The Department of education is awaiting the submission of the stage 2b post-planning report. Full grant of planning was received in quarter 1 of 2025 from the planning authorities. Once this is submitted for evaluation, the report must include all statutory requirements associated with the planning process.

At this early stage, it is not possible to predict when this school building project will go to construction, nor when it will be practically completed, as progress depends upon many contingent factors that can arise throughout the process. Senator O'Reilly made specific reference to the prequalification process. That is something she can follow up directly with the Department and the Minister on. I would not know the particular details, but it is something she referenced. Officials will be looking into the specific matter she raised, but she might follow up formally with the Department.

Since 2020, the Department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the national development plan, involving the completion of more than 1,400 school building projects.Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for the Department to €1.6 billion. In July, the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.5 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026 to 2030 under the national development plan. As part of this NDP 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.

In relation to project roll-out for large-scale projects and additional school accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and to provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project roll-out over the course of the 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.

Senator Sarah O’Reilly:

I thank the Minister of State for the update. I welcome that the project has reached this stage of the process and that the Department is reviewing the report. However, I must express the real sense of frustration on the ground in Bailieborough. We have been talking about this expansion since 2020 and the need has only become more pressing, with enrolments climbing steadily every year. I cannot see why the pre-evaluation process cannot go ahead. I accept that due diligence is necessary in line with the public infrastructure guidelines but I urge the Minister for education and her Department to move this project forward with urgency.

Bailieborough is recognised as a self-sustaining town in the county's settlement hierarchy. Its population has grown rapidly and we cannot leave the school to cope with this indefinitely. The school is already bursting at the seams and space is at a premium. Delays to this extension will result in limited facilities and additional pressure on teaching and learning spaces. The proposed lab, music room, art room and library are exciting for both teachers and students. Students who were attending the school at the time of the first announcement have now gone on to college. They did not get to see the new facilities materialise.

In March 2026 a new housing estate of 48 social houses is due for completion, which will create further demand for school places. At this rate we will soon be looking for an extension to the fantasy extension that is still not built. A clear timeline for delivery would provide reassurance to the community that this is being prioritised. I welcome that the Department is committed to progressing the project but I ask for a commitment to a clear timeline for when we can expect to see construction start and when the Department hopes to see the school extension completed.

Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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Once again, I thank Senator O’Reilly for bringing up this issue on behalf of her constituents. As I said earlier, I am dealing with this matter on behalf of the Minister for education, Deputy McEntee. The Department of Education and Youth awaits the submission of the stage 2b post-planning report and will progress the project once this has been submitted for evaluation. The report must include all statutory requirements associated with the planning process. At this stage it is not possible to predict when this school building will go to construction and be completed as progress depends on many contingent factors that can arise throughout the process. I suggest that the Senator communicate directly with the Department and the Minister on the particular circumstances surrounding this school building project. The Minister and the Department want to see school building projects built as quickly as possible.