Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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910. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will publish the list of schools in County Clare awaiting major works approval from her Department, in tabular form. [59929/25]

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, repurposing, and optimisation of existing accommodation capacity across the school estate has been a key enabler of timely, local provision of special class capacity in a way that supports best practice in inclusion and integration. Circa 80% of new special classes in 2025/26 are being facilitated in repurposed classroom accommodation.

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.

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.

Since 2020 my department has invested over €147m in capital expenditure in schools across Co. Clare. This investment has supported the completion of 28 school building projects. Currently 11 projects are in construction, of which 3 are new school buildings.

The current status of all projects is set out under item number ten at the following link (www.gov.ie). This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.?

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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911. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an application under the additional accommodation scheme by a school (details supplied); when a decision will be made on whether it will progress from stage 2A; when the senior engineers comment will be delivered; that serious consideration would be given to approving progression to the next phase; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59984/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy has just recently completed Stage 2(a) of Architectural Planning – Developed Design, where the preferred design option is developed to a stage where the project can be fully cost planned, and prepared to lodge for statutory approvals.

The brief for this project is to provide 12 Mainstream Classrooms plus 1 Speech & Language Classes along with 3 classrooms for children with Special Educational Needs and all associated site works.

My Department has reviewed the Stage 2(a) Submission. The Stage 2(a) Stakeholders meeting between the School Authorities, Design Team, Project Manager, and my Department, was held in November 2024. The meeting concluded with a request for the Design Team to submit a Stage 2(a) Addendum report addressing issues raised by my Department at the meeting.

My Department has received this information and are currently reviewing the Stage 2(a) Addendum report which is nearing completion.

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.

Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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912. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will expedite the review and approval process for the additional school accommodation project at a school (details supplied), which provides for two SEN base classrooms and one SET room, given that the stage report has already been submitted to her Department and is awaiting technical and cost review; the expected timeline for the completion of this review; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59994/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The school referred to was approved to enter the Department’s pipeline of school buildings under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme for a project providing 2 Special Education Needs classrooms and 1 Special Education Tuition room. The project is devolved to the school authority for delivery.

I can confirm that a Stage 1 report was returned to my department. Following a period of communication and clarification on the initial report, a request for a revised report was required which has now been submitted. This report is currently being reviewed from both a technical and cost perspective in accordance with the requirements of the Public Spending Code. All projects, including this one, are subjected to the required due diligence as specified in the Department’s Infrastructure Guidelines. Once this review is completed, my Department will contact the school authority on the outcome.

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.