313. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on proposed refurbishment works at a school (details supplied); the status of the plans; the timeframe for her Department’s engagement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47043/26]

My department is in receipt of an application for funding, under the Additional School Accommodation (ASA) scheme, from the school referred to by the deputy.

The purpose of the department's ASA scheme is to ensure that essential mainstream classroom accommodation and accommodation for pupils with special education needs is available to cater for pupils enrolled each year, where the need cannot be met by the school's existing accommodation or wider capacity in the School Planning Area.

The Deputy will be aware that I have recently published the €7.55 billion NDP Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth Sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. 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.

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.

My department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued rollout of these projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities.

I can confirm that the school's application is under assessment in this context and the school authorities will be contacted directly when a decision has been made. It is important to note that the school will have sufficient accommodation for the upcoming school year within their existing permanent and modular accommodation already on site.