Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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389. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a school building project (details supplied); the reason for any delays; the projected timeframe for the issuance of the letter of acceptance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37159/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The project referred to by Deputy is a large-scale capital project for the construction of a new extension and the refurbishment of existing facilities to accommodate 1,000 pupils, including provision for Special Educational Needs (SEN) classrooms.

Due diligence by my Department is a critical part of the overall completion of the Stage 3 process and is critical to ensuring quality and value for money, and that projects are progressed within overall budgetary parameters.

With respect to this project, certain issues that arose during the procurement process, and the requirement to carefully manage the capital programme in line with the Infrastructure Guideline and available capital funding had an impact on the timelines for completing the overall procurement process. More than four years has elapsed since the publication of the contract notice and more than two years since the tender submission deadline.

Given the passage of time since tenders were returned an unacceptably high risk that the contract may not successfully be delivered within budget has been identified. On that basis, a decision was made to collapse the tender procedure.

As part of the NDP Review process, all departments, including my department, are currently engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation 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.

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.