Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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440. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the additional accommodation project application lodged by a school (details supplied); the timeline for a decision in respect of this badly needed development; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57401/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm to the Deputy that the school in question has submitted an application for additional accommodation, to meet the school’s accommodation needs under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme.

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.

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.

I can assure the Deputy that my department is very cognisant of the requirement around the delivery of accommodation for the school in question and is working to advance matters. The provision of required school places, including for children with special educational needs, is a priority for my department. My officials are working to ensure that there is sufficient provision to meet the school place needs in the wider school planning area for future years.