Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

180. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide an update on a new school build (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66548/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is now at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning - Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design, which includes the application for statutory approvals, which have been secured, and the preparation of tender documents.

The department received the Stage 2b submission report from the Design Team earlier this year in March 2025. The department commenced a detailed review of this report by the multidisciplinary team and comments were issued to the Design Team requesting clarification. The Design Team have addressed these comments and the responses to those queries are currently under ongoing detailed 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 the 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 roll-out 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 roll-out 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. The 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