John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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50. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on a project (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2531/26]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The school referred to by the Deputy, was approved to enter the Department’s pipeline of school buildings under the Additional School Accommodation Scheme for a project providing three Early Intervention Units.

The project is devolved to the school authority for delivery.

The project is currently at Stage 2B (post planning). The Stage 2B report was submitted to the Department 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, are subject to the required due diligence specified in the Department's Infrastructure Guidelines.

In July 2025, 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.

The sectoral plan for the Education and Youth sector will be published shortly. The first tranche of projects to progress to construction will be published at this time. This NDP Implementation 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. All existing school building projects and applications for accommodation will be considered in this context, with a particular focus on ensuring existing capacity is maximised.

John Clendennen (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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51. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on a project (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2532/26]

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 to provide a one classroom Special Education Needs (SEN) base.

The project is devolved for delivery to the school authority.

The project is currently at Stage 2B (detailed design). The Stage 2B report was received by the Department 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, are subject to the required due diligence as specified in the Department's Infrastructure Guidelines.

In July 2025, 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 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.

The sectoral plan for the Education and Youth sector will be published shortly. The first tranche of projects to progress to construction will be published at this time. This NDP Implementation 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. All existing school building projects and applications for accommodation will be considered in this context, with a particular focus on ensuring existing capacity is maximised.