Grace Boland (Dublin Fingal West, Fine Gael)
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375. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the work her Department is undertaking to ensure that capital funding is keeping pace with rising demographic pressures, inflation in construction costs, and the growing demand for modern, energy-efficient school accommodation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11080/26]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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My department’s NDP Sectoral Investment Plan 2026-2030 involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. Of the total €7.55 billion investment it is envisaged that circa. €5 billion will be used for project rollout to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings across the Large Scale, Additional Accommodation, Modular, and Annual September Accommodation Needs programmes. Over the course of 2026 and 2027 there will be construction work at circa. 10% of the school estate. These projects will, when completed, provide circa 57,000 additional and modernised school places with a strong SEN focus in all projects.

€2.25 billion of NDP funding is to support the existing school estate in terms of maintenance, minor works and ICT grant funding, Climate Action Summer Works Scheme, other climate programmes and also increased capital funding for the Youth Sector. This includes the delivery of the recently announced first tranche of 297 projects under the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme and the continued rollout of over 100 existing projects as part of a variety of Climate Programmes being delivered through a combination of EU funded programmes and partnerships with SEAI. The next tranche of projects under the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme is expected to be published in October 2026.

The remaining €300 million, which represents just under 4% of the total allocation, will operate as contingency funding. The contingency fund is allocated over a 5-year period to provide flexibility for a variety of potential issues including unforeseen site conditions, planning restrictions, or minor changes in project briefs. It also assists in safeguarding the programme against inflation and market fluctuations.

The timely provision of school places is seen as an enabler for residential development and is crucial for the growth of new and evolving sustainable communities. My department actively engages with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Local Authorities, the Land Development Association and the construction industry. The Forward Planning function within the department provides demographic projections on the future demand for school places. This aids in shaping national planning policies, regional and local development plans, and determining when and where to expand school capacity. We are a leader within the public service in relation to our evidence based forward planning processes with the utilisation of a Geographic Information System (GIS).

The criteria for identifying the first tranche of 105 prioritised projects to go to construction / tender in 2026 and 2027 included the condition of the school, projects in areas with capacity pressures, growing demographics and projects in the pipeline for a long time.

As part of the NDP Sectoral Investment Pan 2026-2030 the next tranche of projects will be finalised and published following a stakeholder engagement process to identify the next most urgent priorities. This stakeholder engagement will be undertaken in 2026 and 2027 and will include an assessment of how well existing capacity is maximised and enrolment policies and processes are prioritising local special education provision and mainstream requirements. The Department-led Energy and Condition Survey of the school estate, which will be finalised later in 2026, will provide an additional evidence base for assessing priorities.