Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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959. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for a full update on the new school building project for a school (details supplied); and when the tender process for a contractor will commence. [46499/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The school building project referred to by the deputy will provide a new 600 pupil post-primary school building and accommodation, including classrooms for children with special educational needs.

This project, which has planning permission, has been assigned to my Departments Design & Build delivery programme which uses a professional external Project Manager to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction. The project is currently completing pre-tender design which will be reviewed by my Department in conjunction with the Project Manager.

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.

The Department will continue to keep the school and its patron body updated on progress and next steps.