Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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552. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will expedite an application made by a school in County Clare (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10616/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm to the Deputy that the school in question was recently granted approval, under the Department's SEN Reconfiguration programme, for the provision of one Special Education classroom and one Special Education Tuition room through reconfiguration of existing accommodation.

This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and to help ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects.

The school authority received their first tranche of funding and the design stage of this project is now complete. The tentative estimated completion date is 15th May 2025. The assigned Project Manager will keep the School Authority updated regularly as the project progresses.

Since 2020, my department has invested over €5.8 billion in our schools throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. Between projects currently under construction and projects moving to construction in the coming months, investments by the Department of Education are adding over 600,000 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 National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs and the Department engages intensely with the NCSE in relation to the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. Planning for school place requirements in special classes and special schools for the coming 2025/26 school year is currently underway by the NCSE.

The NCSE will work closely with the school authority to progress with the admission of students and the recruitment and training of staff. The Department is supporting the reconfiguration of accommodation under a project management framework in a number of the schools in which the 408 new special classes for 2024/25 are being established.

My department and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) reviewed the forward planning for special education needs (SEN) and highlighted the urgent need for additional SEN special classes. In order to respond to this need at pace, my Department is progressing urgent building projects that involve the repurposing of existing space in schools for SEN purposes. These projects will ensure that existing school capacity is optimised and that teaching spaces are adaptable and flexible to facilitate a student-centred approach to learning. Potential repurposing options will be school and site specific, presenting different opportunities and challenges. To support the delivery of these classes in good time for the 2025/26 school year a new streamlined approach to funding is available to repurpose accommodation for SEN. A SEN Start Up grant of €30,000 for each new SEN classroom sanctioned and opened for the 2025/26 school year will be payable to the school directly following receipt of NCSE notification of sanctioned classes. My department has commenced issuing the first tranche of these payments to schools. Additional funding for small scale repurposing works up to a maximum of €70,000 per class is also available to schools on an application basis. Further information on SEN repurposing supports can be accessed on www.gov.ie.

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, tender and construction

Officials in my Department will be in contact directly with the school authority to advise on the new streamlined process

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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554. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if assistance will be provided to a school (details supplied) in County Donegal encountering a shortfall in funding to complete a special education classroom; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10726/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The school to which the Deputy refers was approved funding under my Department's Additional School Accommodation scheme for the provision of one Special Education Tuition Room. My Department approved the project to Stage 4 (construction) in May 2024. This project is devolved to the school authority for delivery.

I can confirm that my Department received a request for additional inflationary costs from the school. However, the school was advised that the submitted costs were not in line with SCSI (Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland) guidance. In August 2024, the school was requested to negotiate the price with the contractor and revert to the Department afterwards. The school has not reverted on this request to date.