Brian Stanley (Laois, Independent)
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114. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide a timeline for construction to begin on a site (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31317/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The expansion of capacity at special schools is an important priority for my department including the special school referred to by the Deputy.

I can confirm that in 2022 approval was granted by my department for a traditional build project to provide 4 additional special education classrooms and the project is currently at design stage.

The school subsequently submitted an Additional School Accommodation (ASA) application for modular accommodation for two classrooms. My department subsequently approved the provision of these two classrooms and the project has been progressed to the Department’s Project Manager Framework. The project managers have carried out a site visit to the school and a viability report has been submitted to my department officials. This is being reviewed by technical staff and the modular assessment team and is nearing completion and the school authority will be contacted directly when the viability report is reviewed in full. Unfortunately, it is not currently possible to give a time frame as to when construction will begin.