Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal East, Labour)
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213. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the delivery of the permanent school building for a school (details supplied); the current stage of the project within the School Building Programme; the projected timeline for progressing the school to construction; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26445/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will be delivered under my Department's ADAPT programme. ADAPT is an acronym for the "Accelerated Delivery of Architectural Planning and Tendering".

The ADAPT programme uses a professional external Project Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of Architectural Planning to Tender and Construction.

The project brief is to provide a new 8 classroom Primary School with 2 Special Educational Needs class (expandable to 16 classroom if needed in the future) at Broadmeadow CNS Mooretown, off Rathbeale Road, Swords, Dublin.

Following the Stage 1 stakeholders meeting in January 2025, where the Principal, representatives from DDLETB, all Design Team members, the Project Manager and Department officials were in attendance, the project was approved to progress to Stage 2(a) of Architectural Planning.

Stage 2(a) – Developed Design - is a crucial element of the architectural planning process as it is at this stage that the design is developed to a stage where it can be fully cost planned and prepared to lodge for statutory approvals.

Until the project design is at a stage where statutory approvals, planning permission, etc. are secured by the Design Team, it will not be possible to provide timings for construction and delivery.

The Project Manager and Design Team will continue to engage directly with the school authorities to keep them informed of progress.

Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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214. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the wrapping of old school buildings that do not have cavities to pump will be included in the climate action summer works programme (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26480/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Climate Action Summer Works Scheme (CASWS) has been developed focusing on light to medium retrofit works, that can be delivered by a single appointment consultant, (for example, an Architect for fabric related works).

The CASWS includes the provision of insulation in terms of attic, cavity and internal drylining. These works generally do not require a project to engage with the planning process and are in general, traditional and relatively easily applied solutions.

External wall insulation requires engagement with the planning process and is a significantly more complex provision and is viewed as a deep retrofit element. It impacts significantly more on adjoining services elements to accommodate the thickness of the external wall insulation. CASWS works in these areas are future proofed to facilitate future external insulation upgrades as maybe required by a deep retrofit project.

The interactions between affected services (such as wall vents or electrical services) requires a far greater multi disciplinary involvement from a design team perspective which would generally fall outside the remit of the CASWS. The timing and sequencing of external wall insulation relative to other wall elements such as window upgrades is also important so as not to be replacing windows in advance of their life expectancy (with associated embodied carbon impacts) nor to be opening up and impacting on the integrity of recently installed external insulation to fit new windows.

Presently my department is engaged in an energy and condition inventory of the school estate, which will assist in identifying and targeting deep decarbonisation and energy efficiency investment. The approach of bringing energy and condition data together in the one survey database will facilitate strategic decision-making on priorities for investment across the existing school estate. The approach to external wall insulation will be considered further based on the findings of this inventory.

Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford, Fine Gael)
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215. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the provision of a ASD unit for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26483/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs.

The NCSE is, in the first instance, the primary body responsible for the matter the Deputy has raised. I have forwarded this issue to them for their attention and direct reply.

Deputies are also welcome to raise such queries with the NCSE directly through their dedicated Oireachtas query line at oireachtasqueries@ncse.ie.