John Paul O'Shea (Cork North-West, Fine Gael)
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822. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the development of a construction project of a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59201/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The project referred to by the Deputy is devolved for delivery to Cork Educational and Training Board (CETB).

The project brief is a new school building to provide a 1,000 pupil post primary school and 4 Special Educational Needs classrooms. The project is currently at Stage 2b of the architectural design process. The Department await the submission of the Stage 2b report from the project design team.

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. It is planned that circa 80 school building projects will progress to construction across 2026 and 2027 as part of a 2-year rolling programme.

All Government Departments are expected to publish their sectoral NDP Implementation Plans in November. My Department’s 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.

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North-Central, Fianna Fail)
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826. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on a school project (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59291/25]

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 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.

All Government departments are expected to publish their sectoral NDP Implementation Plans in November. My department’s 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.

Phase 1 of the reconfiguration works for the school referred to by the Deputy was completed in May 2024 and this resulted in new accommodation for the school including a new Technology/Graphics room, modern toilet block, disabled access toilet, a deputy principal's office and improved access to the permanent building of the school.

My department has had a number of discussions previously with the school authorities in relation to the proposed phase 2 element of the project and is exploring a number of options and the need for further discussions with the local county council. The department will be in further contact with the school authorities directly on this matter shortly.