1462. Deputy Eamon Scanlon asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide an update on the planning and construction stages of a new school building (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63176/26]

The major building project referred to by the Deputy will be delivered under the Department's ADAPT programme.

The ADAPT programme uses a professional external Programme Manager to co-ordinate and drive the Design Team to achieve the best possible timeframe for the project through the design stages of architectural planning to Tender and Construction.

The brief for Cnoc na Ré is the development of a new 12 Classroom primary school with additional classrooms for pupils with Special Educational needs, on a green-field site.

The department has recently reviewed the Stage 2a submission from the Design Team and authorised this major project in April 2026 to progress to Stage 2(b) of Architectural Planning – Detailed Design, where all statutory approvals are secured, and the suite of tender documents are prepared.

The Design Team are preparing to lodge the application for planning permission for the preferred design option for the new school building with the Local Authority. The Design Team are also preparing to lodge their applications for a Fire Safety Certificate and Disability Access Certificate and the Local Authority.

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 over 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 the NDP Implementation Plan for the education and youth sector, a first tranche of projects to progress to tender and/or construction during 2026 and 2027 was published in January 2026. Prioritisation will continue to identify further tranches of projects to proceed to tender and construction over the NDP period, with stakeholder consultation having commenced in June 2026.

Our NDP Implementation Plan will optimise outputs from the NDP allocations, with a strong focus on maximising existing school capacity, progressing priority projects where local capacity across schools in the area is insufficient, and ensuring delivery that is affordable, offers value for money, and meets functional needs.

I would like to advise the Deputy, over this period, my Department has provided €77.91 million in capital funding for Sligo schools. A total of 27 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation.

There are currently 4 school projects in Sligo under construction. This summer, 7 schools?are approved to?undergo works as part of the Climate Action Summer Works Scheme.

In addition, since 2020 a total of 22 special classes have been sanctioned in Sligo, of which 7 were sanctioned for September 2026.