96. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Youth when the next round of approvals will issue under the summer works scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54153/26]

he purpose of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme (CASWS) is to enable individual school authorities to undertake small-scale building works on a devolved basis that, ideally, can be carried out during the summer months or at other times that avoid disrupting the operation of the school. The CASWS operates on a multi-annual basis across a number of categories of works.

It is envisaged that approvals in any given year will involve a spread of categories rather than the traditional single category at a time. This is aimed at managing market capacity and maximising value for money opportunities for school authorities.

In November 2025, the Department announced the first tranche of approvals under the new Climate Action Summer Works Scheme.

297 projects were approved to proceed and involve primary, post primary and special schools, along with projects in all counties and across all categories of works. The Department continues to actively engage with these schools to support the delivery of approved projects.

Given that funding is limited in any particular year it is necessary to prioritise applications. Under the new climate action summer works scheme which operates on a multi annual basis, like previous summer works schemes, applications from schools that are not reached for funding or market prioritisation reasons in 2026 will qualify to be assessed for purposes of the funding available for climate action summer works in subsequent years.

The next tranche of approvals under this multi-annual scheme is due in October 2026 for delivery in Summer 2027.