Ann Graves (Dublin Fingal East, Sinn Fein)
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934. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will give a commitment that the funding required for a special school (details supplied) is made available in the forthcoming Budget. [46336/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at Stage 1 – Preliminary Design which includes reviewing all information provided as part of the Project Brief. It also involves establishing and analysing all site factors and constraints which may impact on the project’s viability.

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.