Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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526. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the length of time a school (details supplied) will be required to remain in temporary accommodation which has been described as unsatisfactory; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61628/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The Project referred to by the Deputy is part of the Celbridge Campus project that has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) as part of a bundled school building programme.

The project is currently at Stage 2a of the architectural design process. Stage 2a (the developed design stage) involves the Design Team developing the designs, fully cost planning the campus project and preparing the necessary documentation to facilitate the lodging for statutory approval to Kildare County Council as part of the Stage 2b process. The department are currently awaiting the submission of the Stage 2a report.

The length of time a project takes to deliver depends on several factors, including scale and complexity and is subject to the time it takes to progress through the various design stages and the statutory approval process.

While at this early stage, it is not possible to provide a timeline for the completion of the project. The NDFA will continue to engage directly with the school authorities to keep them fully informed of progress.

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. This will be the context for assessing all project rollout for the 2026 to 2030 period including in relation to St Patricks Celbridge.

In order to address any issues of concern with regards to their present temporary accommodation the school were advised by the department of the options available which included the submission of an Emergency Works application. Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation. The EWS usually provides an interim solution until such time as a permanent solution can be delivered.

Regarding the school in question, I can confirm that the EWS team have engaged with the school and advised the school to provide separate applications for the works required and an itemised cost breakdown in relation to their roof works application. The Department are awaiting these to be submitted. Once received the EWS team will review and engage with the school as appropriate.

Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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527. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when urgent remedial works are expected to be undertaken to address serious health and safety concerns at temporary facilities in a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61629/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The school in question submitted an application for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for fabric defect works on 28 June 2025.

On the 11 August 2025 the EWS team advised the school in question to separate all the works requested into separate defined applications and noted that the original application will be used for the roof works application. The school in question were advised that the EWS operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works required to remedy an emergency situation and, on this basis, the school was advised to submit a revised scope of works with an accompanying itemised cost breakdown.

Once this has been received the EWS team will review the revised application and will engage further with the school as appropriate. The EWS team is aware of the urgent nature of the works required and will keep the school informed throughout the process.