Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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817.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when approval to tender will issue for a school (details supplied) now that planning for the extension has been approved by Westmeath County Council. [32916/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The project to which the Deputy refers, has been devolved to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) for delivery as part of a programme of school building projects.

The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural process. The planning permission for this school was granted in Q1 2024. The NDFA are currently progressing Stage 2b for the project. Once this stage has been finalised and approved, the next stage is tendering for a contractor and then onwards to construction in due course.

At this stage, it is not possible to provide an accurate timeline for completion of the project. The NDFA will be engaging directly with the school authority to keep it informed of progress.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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818.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when approval for construction tender will issue for a school (details supplied), as planning has been approved by Westmeath County Council. [32917/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) for delivery as part of a programme of school building projects.

The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural process. The planning permission for this school was granted in Q1 2024. The NDFA are currently progressing Stage 2b for the project. Once this stage has been finalised and approved, the next stage is tendering for a contractor and then onwards to construction in due course.

At this stage, it is not possible to provide an accurate timeline for completion of the project. The NDFA will be engaging directly with the school authority to keep it informed of progress.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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819.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when works will commence on a school (details supplied), now that planning has been approved. [32937/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The school referred to by the Deputy was approved to enter my department’s pipeline of school building projects to provide a Special Education Tuition room, a 2 classroom Special Education Needs base and a user assisted toilet. The project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority.

My department approved the school's design team to progress the project to planning and detailed design stage. Once my department receives the associated stage 2b architectural report from the school which includes planning permission from the local authority and the other statutory requirements, my Department will review the report and advise the school on how best to proceed to the next stage of this project which is procurement and onwards to construction.

The current status of all projects is listed on a county by county basis, at www.gov.ie, and this is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, planning, tender and construction Since 2020, my department has invested in the region of €4.9 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 900 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes 30 new school buildings. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.2bn. This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right around the country.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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820.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of completing all currently needed new school buildings and repairs and all buildings and repairs projected to be needed over the next ten years. [32967/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Since 2020, my department has invested in the region of €4.9 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 900 school building projects and with construction currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes 30 new school buildings. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.2bn.

I also announced earlier in the year that close to 90 projects, including 28 new school buildings, would be authorised to proceed from tender stage to construction over the course of 2024 and early 2025. In total, around €800 million will be invested in these projects under the department’s Large Scale Capital Programme and Additional Accommodation Scheme for essential classroom accommodation.

Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in this latest phase, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 550,000 square metres of new and modernised capacity to our school estate.

This is a record level of investment in school buildings. It will expand the number of school places, significantly increase provision for special education and upgrade and modernise our school infrastructure. The impact of this will be felt in communities right around the country.

The department continues to advance plans to address a significant level of need across the school system. Requirements can evolve as, for example, residential development impacts demand for school places in parts of the country. The demand for accommodation for special education provision has also increased significantly and is a major driver of investment.

With regard to the condition of the existing school estate, the department recently secured confirmation of EU funding, as part of the REPowerEU Programme, to complete an energy and condition survey of all schools in the country. This will be key to informing investment in the existing estate into the future.