Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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505. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update regarding the unexpected latest delay in progressing the construction of the long-awaited extension for (detail supplied); if a site inspection was carried out recently; the next steps to facilitate progress; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52004/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The brief for the school referred to by the Deputy is for the construction of a new extension and the refurbishment of existing facilities to accommodate 1,000 pupils, including provision for Special Educational Needs (SEN) classrooms.

More than four years has elapsed since the publication of the contract notice and more than two years since the tender submission deadline. Given the passage of time since tenders were returned and the unacceptably high risk that the contract may not successfully be delivered within budget has been identified. On that basis, DDLETB has made the decision to collapse the tender procedure.

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.