Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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497. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to publish the evaluation findings and lessons learned from the small schools pilot project; the number and location of participating schools; if she will bring forward a plan and costing to expand the model nationally in 2026, including cluster governance templates, additional administration days for teaching principals, ICT supports, and transport arrangements; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51882/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Programme for Government provides for a number of measures to support small schools, including introducing a new national small schools' project and trialling new administrative supports. The Government is very aware that small schools are an important part of the life of local communities.

The current small schools' action research project established in 2021 is due to conclude at the end of this school year. It includes six clusters of small schools, two in Galway and one each in Donegal, Kerry, Wicklow and Waterford, consisting of between three and five schools per cluster.

The interim evaluation report has been published by my department, linked here:www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/press-releases/minister-mcentee-publishes-small-schools-project-evaluation/ The independent review identifies potential areas for closer collaboration and an analysis of the scalability of actions already undertaken. A further evaluation will take place over the final phase of the project.

Learnings from the evaluation of the current project will be invaluable and form a strong basis to inform the future policy direction in relation to all small schools, including how the Programme for Government Commitment can be delivered.