585. Deputy Johnny Guirke asked the Minister for Education and Youth the primary and post primary schools in County Meath currently undergoing construction works; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34478/26]

As the Deputy will be aware the €7.55 billion NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth Sectors for the period 2026 to 2030 was published in January. This NDP Sectoral Plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. In this regard there will be a strong special education dimension to project rollout.

The department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued rollout of projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, I have also published a list of the 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over 2026 and 2027. This list includes 7 projects in County Meath, of which 4 are primary schools and 3 are post primary schools. Additionally, 10 schools are approved to undergo works as part of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme this summer.

These projects are in addition to over €473 million in capital funding for County Meath schools since 2020. Over that period, a total of 62 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation, of which 41 are primary schools and 21 are post primary schools.

There are also currently 13 school projects in Meath under construction, of which 7 are primary schools and 6 are post primary schools. In addition, since 2020 a total of 125 special classes have been sanctioned in Meath, of which 18 were for September 2026.

The current status of all projects, including those in County Meath is set out, under item number ten, at the following link [www.gov.ie] This is updated on a regular basis to reflect project progress through the various stages of capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender and construction.