Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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19. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a planned meeting of stakeholders will take place regarding a joint school building project (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59677/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The joint major building project referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning - Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which includes the application for statutory approvals, to include Disability Access Certificate (DAC), Fire Safety Cert (FSC) and planning permission.

This joint school building project will deliver a new extension and refurbishment of some existing accommodation to provide two 24 classroom primary schools with classrooms for children with special educational needs, to cater for the Junior and Senior schools.

The schedule of accommodation was recently reviewed and subsequently increased to include additional accommodation for children with Special Educational Needs. The Design Team submitted their amended design options to include the increased accommodation to my Department for review which is currently ongoing. This is a detailed process subject to my Department's due diligence.

On completion of my Department's review, a meeting of all stakeholders is to be held, to discuss and agree a preferred option for further development.

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.

This project will be considered, mindful of the need to manage these priorities, within the context of the department's overall capital programme.