Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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144. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps being taken to follow through in the Programme for Government’s plan to ensure, through the NDP process, that adequate funding is available for new school places in areas of demographic growth and new special education provision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28258/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan (NDP), involving the completion of over 1,375 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. A recent Government decision has approved €210m supplementary capital funding for my department which brings the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6bn.

As part of the ongoing National Development Plan (NDP) Review process, all Government departments, including the Department of Education, are currently engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform to examine capital funding allocations for the 2026–2030 period.

The Programme for Government highlights the importance of improving national infrastructure, with a particular emphasis on areas such as housing, energy, water, transport, and digitalisation. In this context, the NDP Review is prioritising investment that directly supports the delivery of 300,000 additional homes by 2030, and boosts national competitiveness.

The Department of Education submission for the NDP Review highlights the essential role of school infrastructure in meeting the needs of a growing population, especially in areas of demographic growth and for new special education provision.

It is expected that greater clarity around funding allocations will be provided over the summer. This will enable the Department to plan its capital investment programme for 2026–2030 in line with identified and prioritised needs. A key objective remains to maximise the use of existing school capacity, while also progressing critical projects—particularly those required to meet urgent demographic and special education needs—on a rolling basis from Autumn onwards, once allocations are confirmed.