1519. Deputy Paul Nicholas Gogarty asked the Minister for Education and Youth if her Department has assessed the impact that the absence of a confirmed timeline for the relocation of a school serving the Rathcoole area to its permanent site has had on enrolment levels; whether the repeated relocation of the school and the uncertainty regarding its permanent accommodation will be taken into account when determining staffing allocations for the 2027/2028 school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [63806/26]

The major building project for the school referred to by the deputy will deliver new 16 classroom primary school and accommodation, including 4 classrooms for children with Special Educational Needs on their permanent site Off Coolamber Drive, Rathcoole, Co. Dublin. This project is anticipated to be delivered under my departments Design & Build programme. Planning permission for the project has been attained, and the next milestone will be to progress to tender stage.

My department continues to liaise with the school and its patron body in relation to interim accommodation pending delivery of the permanent school. The school re-located from accommodation on a DDLETB owned site in Citywest to new modular accommodation on a site in Newcastle, which is located within its school planning area, since the academic year 2025/26.

As the Deputy may be aware, for school planning purposes, the department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System (or GIS) to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including Child Benefit Data, school enrolment data and information on residential development activity is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the department’s projections of school place requirements. Additional accommodation provision is made as necessary, where the existing capacity is insufficient for future needs.

In addition, an annual school capacity management process is undertaken by my department, to ensure that sufficient school places are available to meet demand each year at both primary and post-primary level, including for children and young people with special educational needs. This process involves ongoing analysis of enrolment trends, demographic data and projected intake at school planning area level, as well as direct engagement with schools, patrons and management bodies. Each school planning area is kept under review on an ongoing basis, with particular regard to projected pupil intake, existing school capacity and emerging enrolment pressures. Where potential capacity pressures are identified, my department engages directly with the relevant schools and patrons, including through data-sharing arrangements where appropriate, to better understand application patterns and overlapping demand. This supports timely interventions to ensure sufficient school places are available for the forthcoming school year.

The staffing arrangements include a provision whereby schools experiencing rapid increases in enrolment can apply for additional permanent mainstream posts, using projected enrolment. The school referred to by the Deputy has been allocated a post on this basis and has been advised that to retain the post, an enrolment of 141 is required on 30 September.

The staffing process also contains an appeals mechanism for schools to submit a staffing appeal to an independent Primary Staffing Appeals Board. One of the appeals criteria is aimed at schools that receive a projected enrolment post but do not meet the required enrolment on 30 September. Such schools may submit an appeal to the October meeting of the Primary Staffing Appeals Board. Information and application forms are available in Circular 0025/2026.

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 ongoing.

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.