John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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442. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the development of a new school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51329/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The major building project referred to by the Deputy is being delivered as part of my Department’s ADAPT Programme.

The ADAPT Programme uses a professional external Project Manager to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of Architectural Planning to Tender and Construction.

The brief for this major project is to provide a New 16 Classroom School & 2 classrooms for children with special educational needs, at the existing site in Moycullen. The Board of Management have acquired additional land to accommodate a new build.

The project is at completion of Stage 2(b) of the architectural design process. Stage 2(b) involves detailed design, securing all statutory approvals and the preparation of tender documentation. Planning Permission was secured in May 2023.

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 roll-out 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 roll-out 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.

John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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443. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the development of a new school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51330/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The joint major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an early stage of architectural planning - Stage 1 – Preliminary Design, which includes an assessment of the site and location suitability, and initial sketch scheme. This project is being delivered as part of the Departments ADAPT Programme.

The ADAPT Programme uses a professional external Project Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the stages of Architectural Planning to Tender and Construction.

The project brief is for the delivery of 2 new replacement 24 classroom primary schools and classrooms for pupils with special educational needs, at the existing site in Renmore, the demolition of the existing buildings, and removal of the current temporary accommodation.

The Stage 1 site assessment and proposed design options were under review by the Design Team. The Design Team had also conducted a further review of all decant options within the red line boundary of the current school and have submitted a Stage 1 Addendum report to the Department for consideration.

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 roll-out 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 roll-out 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.