Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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1026. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the extension for a school (details supplied); when it is expected that approval will be granted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47153/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The project to which the Deputy refers has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) as part of a programme of school building projects.

The project received full grant of planning permission and is currently at Stage 3 of the architectural planning design process - Tender stage.

When this stage is concluded, the project will progress to construction in due course.

It is not possible at this time to give a date for completion of the project. However, the NDFA will continue to engage directly with the school authority in regard to progressing this important project.

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. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.

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 current status of all projects is listed on a county-by-county basis at www.gov.ie and this is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.

Jennifer Whitmore (Wicklow, Social Democrats)
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1027. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the extension for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47154/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter the Department’s pipeline of school buildings for a project to provide 1 General classroom, 1 Music room, 1 Textiles room, 1 Art room, 1 Graphics room, 2 Multimedia rooms, 1 Science lab, 1 Science Prep area, 2 Technology and shared Prep areas and a 3 Classroom SEN base under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme (ASA). This project was devolved to the school authority for delivery.

This project was approved to Stage 2a the detailed design stage of the architectural process in Q3 2024.

The Department is now awaiting the submission of a Stage 2a (detailed design) report. Once the Stage 2a submission is submitted and subject to no significant issues arising during the completion of the Stage 2a review process, the next step for the school authority and its Design Team will be to obtain the requisite statutory planning approvals. The project can then be expected to move onward to tender and construction in due course.

It is now a matter for the school authority and their design team to progress this very important project to the next stage.