Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein)
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1188. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total funding allocated to the climate action summer works scheme in 2026 and beyond, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43029/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Summer Works Scheme is to enable individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works on a devolved basis and, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school.

A new Climate Action Summer Works Scheme (CASWS) was opened for applications on the 1st May 2025 and closed for applications at 5.30pm on the 30th of June 2025. The scheme now includes a strong climate action dimension and operates on a multi-annual basis across a number of categories of works.

Officials in my Department are currently in the process of validating and assessing the applications received under the CASW. This exercise will inform the overall volume of projects, and their associated costings, to be progressed under the multi-annual lifespan of the CASWS.

I should point out that since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. The Government has now concluded the review of the National Development Plan which sets out the capital allocations for each Government Department for the 2026 to 2030 period.

The NDP outcome involves an allocation of €7.55bn for the Department of Education & Youth for the 2026 to 2030 period. I intend to prioritise investment in special education and school places as part of €7.55 Billion in funding for 2026-2030.

It is envisaged that the NDP funding will involve the following:

• It will facilitate the completion of circa 300 school building projects currently in construction to deliver over 22,300 school places in new and modernised accommodation across primary, post-primary and special schools. Most of these projects are expected to be completed over the course of 2026 and 2027.
• Have a strong emphasis on supporting children with special educational needs in relation to the annual requirements for special classes and places in special schools through continuing to maximise and re-purpose existing capacity as much as possible and provision of modular accommodation where determined necessary by the Department. It is envisaged that this will involve the provision of circa. 14,000 school places in special classes and special schools over the course of the 2026 to 2030 period to meet necessary annual requirements.
• In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional Accommodation Scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project rollout over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.