Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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217. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on the EWS application for a school (details supplied); to provide a timeline on the assessment of the application; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67393/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the purpose of the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) is to provide funding specifically for unforeseen emergencies, or to provide funding to facilitate inclusion and access for pupils with special needs. It does so by ensuring the availability of funding for urgent works to those schools that are in need of resources as a result of an emergency situation.

An emergency is deemed to be a situation which poses an immediate risk to health, life, property or the environment, which is sudden, unforeseen and requires immediate action, and in the case of a school, if not corrected would prevent the school or part thereof from opening.

Pertaining to the school in question, an application was submitted for funding under the Emergency Works Scheme (EWS) for mechanical and electrical works on 7 October 2025. This application was approved for funding and the project is currently with the school to progress further.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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218. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a project (details supplied) will receive stage 2 approval for the extension required; when outstanding stage one payments will be processed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67416/25]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The school to which the Deputy refers was approved to enter the Department's pipeline for a project under the Additional School Accommodation scheme. The project will provide a three Class SEN Base, two General Classrooms, a Music Room, a Graphics Room, a Science Lab and Prep area, an Engineering Room and Prep area, a Home Economics Room and an Art Room.

A Stage 2a Report for the project was received by my department in June 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, will undergo the necessary due diligence outlined in the public Infrastructure Guidelines. Managing timing, scope, and cost is crucial to staying within budgetary limits for the overall program.

As this is a devolved project, all payments to design team members are managed directly by the School Authority. Once the required documentation is received, my Department will arrange for the appropriate funding to be issued to the School Authority.

Since 2020, my department has invested over €6 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. Government support for this investment, including by way of supplementary capital funding, has delivered real benefits for school communities. Supplementary capital funding of €210 million approved by Government has brought the total capital allocation for 2025 for my department to €1.6 billion.

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 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.

My department is now preparing an NDP implementation plan which is due for publication later in the year. This 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.