Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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34. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to investigate the delays related to the design and planning of the new development for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [59605/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy will be delivered under my Department's ADAPT Programme.

The ADAPT Programme uses a professional external Programme Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the design stages of architectural planning to Tender and Construction.

The brief for this project is the development of a new 12 Classroom primary school with additional classrooms for pupils with Special Educational needs, on a green-field site.

The major building project is currently at Stage 2(a) of Architectural Planning – Developed Design, where the preferred agreed design option can be developed to a stage where the project is fully cost planned and the scheme can be prepared to lodge for statutory approvals with the local authority.

My Department has reviewed the Stage 2(a) Submission from the Design Team. The Stage 2(a) Stakeholders meeting was held on the 2nd July 2025, with representatives from the School Authorities, Design Team, Project Manager and my Department in attendance. 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 and are currently reviewing the Stage 2(a) Addendum report. Upon review of the Stage 2(a) Addendum report, my Department will advise all Stakeholders regarding the further progression of the project.

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 Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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35. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she has advanced plans for a new school on the new site offered free of charge to the State within the town boundaries of Milford (details supplied). [59714/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm that officials in my department are in receipt of an application for large scale capital funding from the school referred to by the Deputy and has corresponded extensively with the school following this application. The school has already received significant capital funding in its current location, although it has also refused proposed investment in the existing school which the Department believes would have dealt with some of the more immediate issues for the school.

All applications from schools for major capital works must be considered in the context of capacity requirements and climate action commitments. The priority of the Department continues to be the provision of required additional school places to meet demographic requirements as well as for children with special educational needs.

The Department can identify opportunities to transform existing schools as part of energy retrofit projects, and the Department’s Pathfinder programme has been developing effective solutions in this regard, as we plan for a future wider rollout. The plan for identifying opportunities to transform existing schools at national scale will be informed by the outcome of an Energy and Condition survey of all schools which is due for completion in 2026. The subsequent analysis of this significant amount of data will help determine priorities going forward in relation to retrofit and refurbishment projects. The process may ultimately identify a requirement for the replacement of some accommodation, but this is not expected to be widespread. This overall process is particularly valuable in facilitating a proportionate assessment of a school’s accommodation upgrade needs relative to all other schools and allow an effective prioritisation of capital investment.

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.