Kilkenny City Vocational School and Coláiste Pobail Osraí are both excellent schools that do hugely important work for young people and the wider Kilkenny community. However, their new school campus project has been stuck at stage 2B for quite some time. The school community and I are eager to see it progressed to the next stage as a matter of urgency. I spoke with both schools and school leaderships last week. Certainty around capital funding is needed. This project would provide modern, fit for purpose facilities and would be a vital investment in both schools and the wider school community and be a positive boost for the whole of Kilkenny city. I ask that capital funding be made available as soon as possible so that the project can move to tender stage. After all of the work and commitment in getting the project to this stage, the school communities deserve certainty and a clear pathway to delivery. God knows they have waited long enough.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I know he has raised it a number of times with the Taoiseach and others. In terms of education funding more generally, there was a €5 billion allocation in the previous five-year cycle in the national development plan. We prioritised educational resourcing of a 50% increase in the 2025-2030 plan to €7.5 billion. The Minister for education has published the sectoral investment plan for education. I appreciate the wider uncertainty, the lack of clarity that is reflected in the school community and the importance of progress in terms of it being stuck at 2B. I will ask the Minister for education to engage with the school on this matter. The level of funding should provide for the significant enhancement of existing school buildings but also for new schools right across the country. We sought to prioritise it in the national development plan and I will ask for the school to be provided with more certainty on the matter.