Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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458. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 78 of 4 November 2025, the timeline for the completion of a stage 2a addendum report (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63107/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The outstanding information for the Addendum Stage 2a Report for the joint major building project for the schools referred to by the deputy was received in my Department on 31st October 2025.

Department officials will carry out a full review of the Addendum Report however, it is not possible, at present, to provide a timeframe for the completion of that review.

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.