Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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21. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59760/25]

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 (NDP), 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 (NDP). 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.

The school referred to by the Deputy submitted an application for major capital works for which there has been ongoing discussions with the school authority. The school was approved funding for the replacement of two temporary classrooms with new modular classrooms and this project is expected to be completed in quarter 2 of 2026. The school has requested further interim accommodation which is currently being evaluated at present in the context of a restricted school site.

As part of this evaluation and following further information provided by the school more recently, the department’s professional and technical team visited the site to consider how best to optimise the available site capacity to meet the school’s longer-term requirements. This examination is taking account of demographic projections, the extent to which the school is enrolling students from the local area, and of how existing capacity in the school and across the area can be optimised. The department is finalising its assessment and will be in further contact with the school authority when this is completed.