John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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442. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for a list of additional school accommodation projects approved for County Offaly in each of the past ten years, 2015-2025; the date of their completion; if not yet completed, their current status and expected completion date; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [57429/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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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 1,300 school building projects. In addition, over 200 SEN Repurposing projects have been delivered maximising the use of existing accommodation while creating opportunities for inclusion and integration. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.

Over 1,300 Large Scale, Additional Accommodation and Modular school building projects completed between 2020 and to date in 2025. In addition, over 200 SEN Repurposing projects delivered maximising the use of existing accommodation while creating opportunities for inclusion and integration. The current status of all projects is listed on a county by county basis at www.gov.ie and this is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction. A comprehensive list of all live ASA projects for Offaly schools is attached along with a record of all ASA project completions for Offaly schools from 2015 onwards. It is currently not possible at the design or tender stage to give the Deputy a timeframe as to when school projects will go to construction as progress depends upon many contingent factors.

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.