530. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status of an finished building project at a school (details supplied); and when it is like to be sanctioned for completion. [38760/26]

The school to which the Deputy refers is currently at Stage 2b - Advanced Architectural Planning. The project is a completion project, which includes a Sports Hall that was to be completed as part of the original phased project.

The Design Team have prepared a Stage 2b submission which is under review within my Department.

The 105 projects prioritised to proceed to tender and/or construction across 2026 and 2027 represent a first tranche of large scale, extension and modular projects. However, further tranches will be prioritised to proceed at a later stage over what is a five year NDP plan with a total investment of €7.55 billion.

The projects selected for the initial tranche were already at Stage 3 (tender stage) and the most urgent projects at Stage 2b (detailed design) that had planning permission. Projects that were not already at this stage of readiness were not eligible for consideration for the initial tranche. The Stage 2b projects selected to progress were identified as meeting the most urgent requirements from a special education, demographics or building condition perspective.

As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, a department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027. This will include engagement with key stakeholders, including meetings with patrons in June. 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. A next tranche of projects to proceed to tender is expected to be announced in Q4 2026/Q1 2027.

Engagement with individual schools will also continue and will include consideration of issues such as any interim accommodation requirements and, in some cases, advancing enabling works to facilitate smooth progress to construction at a later stage.

It is important to note that the 105 projects on the initial NDP priority list represent a subset of the overall school building programme. In total, there are 260-300 projects under construction at any one time. Over the course of 2026, some 1,000 school projects of varying scales will be under construction. In addition to large scale, extension and modular projects, this includes climate action projects, summer works and repurposing of rooms for special education classes.

Since 2020, the Department of Education has provided €1906.47 million in capital funding for Dublin schools. Over this period, a total of 261 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation. 20 school projects to go to tender or construction in 2026 and 2027 were included in the NDP Implementation Plan. There are currently 54 school projects in Dublin under construction.

This summer, 53 schools?are approved to?undergo works as part of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme.

In addition, since 2020 a total of 515 special classes have been sanctioned in Dublin, of which 114 were sanctioned for September 2026.