Conor McGuinness (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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443. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a school (details supplied) that was granted funding by her Department in December 2024 for additional space needed in September 2025, will finally be contacted by the design team given the school was promised contact in February. [32544/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm to the Deputy, that the school in question has accepted a brief for a traditional building project consisting of 4 mainstream general classrooms, 3 special educational tuition rooms and 2 special education classrooms under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme.

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 to support the provision of special education accommodation and meet school place needs.? This brings the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6bn.

As part of the NDP Review process, all departments, including my department, are currently engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform with respect to NDP allocations for the period 2026-2030.? It is expected that there will be clarity on these allocations over the course of the summer period, and this will allow my department to plan its capital investment programme for the 2026 to 2030 period in line with prioritised needs and reflecting, as appropriate, wider Government priorities. Maximising existing capacity in schools to meet needs is very important.? The progression of prioritised individual projects to meet the most urgent needs in the 2026 to 2030 period that cannot be met through existing capacity across schools in the local area will be considered on a rolling basis from Autumn onwards after the NDP allocations are finalised.

I can assure the Deputy that my department is very cognisant of the urgency around the delivery of accommodation for the new school year and is working to advance matters as quickly as possible. The provision of required school places, including for children with special educational needs, is a priority for my department. My officials are working to ensure that there is sufficient provision to meet the school place needs in the school in question and the wider school planning area for future years.