Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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250. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the progression to stage 2 to provide two special education teacher rooms at a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [62304/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I can confirm to the Deputy that the school referred to was approved to enter my Department’s pipeline of school buildings for a project providing 2 SET Rooms under my Department's Additional School Accommodation Scheme. This project is devolved to the school authority for delivery.

I can confirm that the Stage 2a (detailed design) report was submitted to the Department in Q3 2025 and 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.

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.

The NDP implementation plan will be considered as part of the ongoing review of this school building project. Once the NDP implementation plan is finalised my Department will be in a position to inform the school of the outcome.