1461. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education and Youth for an update on a school building project (details supplied); when approval will issue for the project to progress from stage 2A to stage 2B; and whether the project is being considered for inclusion in the next tranche of school building projects to progress in 2027. [63134/26]

The Project referred to by the Deputy has been devolved to Kerry Education and Training Board (KETB).

The project brief provides for development of a new 4 Classroom Primary School including 1 Special Education Needs (SEN) classroom.

The project has concluded Stage 2a of the architectural design process.

Since 2020, my department has invested over €7 billion in our schools throughout the country under the National Development Plan, involving the completion of over 1,500 school building projects along with circa 4,300 small-scale improvement works to meet priority maintenance needs and advance energy efficiency and climate goal. In addition, repurposing and optimisation of existing accommodation capacity across the school estate has been a key enabler of timely, local provision of special class capacity in a way that supports best practice in inclusion and integration. Circa 80% of new special classes in 2025/26 are being facilitated in repurposed classroom accommodation. This investment has delivered real benefits for school communities.

A total capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth has been confirmed for the period 2026-2030 under the National Development Plan. As part of this NDP allocation my department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. In relation to project rollout for Large-Scale projects and Additional School Accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project rollout over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.

As part of planning ahead, a department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027 to assess and evaluate individual projects, including the school building project referred to by the Deputy, to enter and/or progress through the design pipeline, having regard to the continual need to maximise existing capacity and determine the prioritised needs going forward.