Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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58. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on the additional accommodation application submitted by a school (details supplied); the reason for the delay in granting approval despite the application being with her Department for over two years; and if she will prioritise the matter given the lack of adequate facilities is preventing local children, including those with additional needs, from attending their community school alongside their siblings and peers. [50546/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that my department is in receipt of an application for funding under the Additional Schools Accommodation (ASA) scheme from the school in question.

The purpose of the ASA Scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream and special education classroom accommodation is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year and where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation or by available accommodation at other schools in the area.

In general, demographics have been falling at primary level and are due to continue to decrease. Therefore my department considers it prudent to maximise the use of existing spare accommodation capacity at primary level in the first instance, before considering any applications for further accommodation needs. This is in line with public spending requirements.

I can advise the Deputy that a site visit to the school was undertaken and the resulting technical report confirmed that the school site is over capacity. Any provision of additional accommodation to the school in question will therefore require purchase of an adjacent site.

The Government has now concluded the review of the National Development plan which sets out the capital allocations for each Government Department for the 2026 to 2030 period. The NDP outcome involves an allocation of €7.55bn for the Department of Education & Youth for the 2026 to 2030 period.

Each Department is now tasked to develop implementation plans based on their NDP allocations. The Department’s target will be to have this done and published in the Autumn. This will involve the Department’s Planning & Building Unit undertaking a review and analysis to determine the optimum outputs to be achieved from the €7.55bn allocation with a strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and in relation to project delivery ensuring a continued focus on affordability, value for money and functionality.

The application from the school in question will be considered in this context and the school authorities will be contacted with a decision as soon as possible.