Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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182. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on a request for funding to equip two modular SEN classrooms, as currently, the school cannot fully equip the classroom for full operation (details supplied). [55989/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The school to which the Deputy refers was granted capital funding for the provision of two Special Educational Needs (SEN) classrooms under my Department’s Devolved SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme in December 2024.

This programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and help ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects. Kerrigan Sheanon Newman Project Management (KSN) has been appointed, from the Department’s Framework, to design and tender the project and oversee all elements of construction.

The school authority received their second tranche of funding in May 2025, which included the standard Furniture and Equipment and Information and Communications Technology grants as part of this funding. This project is now complete and it is expected that the accommodation will be handed over for occupation in the coming weeks.

My Department is fully aware of the urgency in respect of this accommodation and will be working closely with the project managers and the school authority to keep it updated on overall project delivery and timelines.

In addition to the above, SEN start up grants to this school in July 2025 from the furniture and equipment (F&E) area. The F&E area has also engaged with the school in respect of a query about replacement furniture and is awaiting a response from the school in this regard.