Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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927. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the construction of a school (details supplied) and the tender process; if the project will begin construction in quarter one to two of 2026; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46285/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The large scale capital project for the school referred to by the Deputy is the provision of a new 600 pupil school building including all associated ancillary accommodation.

My Department previously advised a new grant of planning was received in December 2023, with a number of conditions attached. Decarbonisation measures were included in a revised project scope in line with Climate Action objectives.

The design team have finalised the pre-tender checks and documents and a report was recently received and is currently under review by department officials.

In July the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026-2030 under the National Development Plan. As part of this NDP

allocation my department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional School 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.

My department is now preparing an NDP implementation plan which is due for publication later in the Autumn. This plan will optimise outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional needs.

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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928. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount spent on building new schools in the North West in the past 5 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46287/25]

Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein)
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929. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of new schools built in the North West in the past 5 years; the location of the schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46288/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 928 and 929 together.

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.

In the North West region - covering Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Leitrim and Sligo - my department has invested over €470m to date. During this period over 150 school building projects were completed including 4 New School Buildings. Currently over 50 projects are in construction with a further 50 projects at advanced stage of delivery. Of the projects in construction 4 are New School Buildings. Furthermore, 4 New School Building projects are progressing through advanced stages of architectural planning.

The position on individual projects evolves all the time as they advance through various stages. The status of all projects is set out at (www.gov.ie). This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction. Please see below details for investment and completions in the North West.