Séamus McGrath (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)
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214. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update regarding a request for additional accommodation for a school in Cork city (details supplied) to provide appropriate and urgently needed teaching and support space for children who have received a diagnosis of autism. [53581/25]

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 school was issued a provisional letter of offer following their application for capital funding and on the basis of the agreed brief the Department's project managers were appointed to carry out a viability report on the school building and a proposed neighbouring building. The viability report and a subsequent conservation report have been reviewed by the department's Technical staff with no technical issues reported. The viability of the proposed project is contingent on a lease agreement between the school and the neighbouring landowner.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs nationwide. Over the last two years, my department and the NCSE have worked closely on a more streamlined and joined up planning process which has ensured a targeted approach to meet demand for special education placements ahead of each new school year. My department continues to work with the NCSE in relation to the short-term requirements for special class and special school places and also the more strategic and longer-term requirements.

It is my department’s priority to ensure that all children have an appropriate school placement and that the necessary supports are provided to our schools to cater for the needs of children with special educational needs. To-date the school in question has not been sanctioned a special class by the NCSE.

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.

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.