Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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961. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if funding is still available for the LMETB headquarters building in Drogheda to commence; the most recent estimated costing available for the project; when it will go to tender; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46541/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved for delivery to Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB).

The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural planning process. This stage involves obtaining all statutory approvals, preparing a set of fully detailed Tender documents, and preparing an accurate pre-tender cost plan.

Since 2020 over €6 billion has been invested in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1400 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities.

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. This will be the context for assessing all project rollout for the 2026 to 2030 period including in relation to the LMETB Headquarters.