Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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347. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure a modular build for a school (details supplied) is expedited. [65202/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The school to which the deputy refers to was granted capital funding for the provision of two Special Educational Needs Classrooms under my Department’s SEN Reconfiguration and Modular Accommodation programme.

The programme involves the use of Project Management supports which is designed to enable the accommodation to be provided as quickly as possible and help ease the administrative workload for school authorities in relation to the management and delivery of projects.

KSN has been appointed from my Department’s Framework, to design and tender the project at the school in question. This is a collaborative process between the Project Manager, School Authority and my Department.

I am pleased to advise the project is progressing very well and the accommodation is targeted to be completed in Q1 2026.

The Department is fully aware of the urgency in respect of this accommodation and will be working closely with the Project Managers and School Authority to keep it updated on overall project delivery and timelines.

Noel McCarthy (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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348. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on proposed building works at a school (details supplied); when works will progress to the next stage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [65204/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, 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.