Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South-West, Fianna Fail)
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462. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the progress of the extension and refurbishment plans for a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63195/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to the Catholic Education an Irish Schools Trust (CEIST).

The project brief provides for a 600 pupil post primary school plus 3 Special Education Needs (SEN) classrooms.

In Quarter 1 2025, a Stage 1 meeting took place, and further information was requested to be submitted by the Design Team. This has been received and is currently undergoing review by the Department.

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