Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

492. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progress made to date toward the construction of new premises at a school (details supplied); when the project will progress to the next stage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [48174/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The major building project referred to by the Deputy will deliver a new 8 classroom primary school with 2 classrooms for children with special education needs.

The project will be delivered under my Department's ADAPT 4 Programme – Programme Innovate. This programme will be led by Integrated Project Teams consisting of highly skilled and experienced design professionals, architects, engineers, project managers, quantity surveyors and various other consultants to deliver the projects.

The project is currently at the initial stage of architectural planning – Pre-Stage 1 where the Integrated Project Team carry out a site and current building assessment and initial design sketch schemes are created. Upon receipt and review of the Stage 1 report by my Department, the IPT and school authorities will be advised regarding project progression and next steps.

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.