Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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150. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update regarding a school extension (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55647/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The school referred by the Deputy was approved to enter the Department’s pipeline of school buildings under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme for a project to provide 1 mainstream classroom. The project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority.

The project is currently at Stage 1, and my Department has been engaging with the school regarding outstanding documentation. Upon receipt, this will be assessed from both technical and cost perspectives in line with the Public Spending Code. All projects, including this one, are subject to the due diligence outlined in the Public Infrastructure Guidelines. Managing timing, scope, and cost is essential to maintaining budgetary control across the programme.

The school has requested to progress to the Tender stage; however, the Department has not approved advancement beyond Stage 1/2a (preliminary design). We have recently communicated with the school regarding this matter.

Once this issue is clarified and reviewed, the Department will provide direct guidance to the school authority on the appropriate next steps for progressing this important project.

John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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151. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the progression of development and enhancement works at a school (details supplied) County Galway; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [55657/25]

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

The purpose of my department’s Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school’s existing accommodation or at other schools in the area.

At primary level, this situation generally arises to cater for a school’s accommodation requirements where an additional teaching post has been sanctioned by Teacher Allocation Section, or the requirement for a new class for pupils with special education needs has been identified by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), and all available alternative accommodation within the school is already being used for classroom purposes. The capacity at other schools in the area is also considered as part of the assessment of any accommodation needs.

Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,400 school building projects.? Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities.? A recent Government decision has approved €210m supplementary capital funding for my department which brings the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.

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 the 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 as part of this process and the school authority will be notified of the decision directly.