Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

262. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she will take to address the delays in delivering school building projects under the National Development Plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14920/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Since 2020, my department has delivered over €5.8 billion of an investment in our school buildings throughout the country, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects.

The Department’s school building programme is delivered through a range of procurement strategies, which are tailored to the scale and complexity of our projects and programmes. This strategic procurement approach also allows us to access a diversity of contractors, consultants and modular suppliers for expediting delivery of projects. Our approach has allowed us to maintain a strong and consistent delivery, even through recent Brexit, Covid and Ukraine war related turbulence in the construction sector. Integrated delivery teams in the PBU include both professional and technical, and administrative/project management staff. These teams support and oversee the delivery of an approved project from project brief stage through the various stages of architectural planning and ultimately to tender, construction and completion. We have a strong reliance on devolved delivery arrangements through a diversity of partners and have put supports in place to bolster the capacity of partner organisations.

Construction is currently underway at approximately 300 other projects, which includes large scale new school buildings some of which are being delivered in phases. These 300 projects currently at construction involve a total State investment of over €1.5billion. In 2024, the department announced 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 is being 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 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 Programme for Government recognises the importance of strong capital investment in the school building programme and supporting this with enhanced allocations through the NDP process.