132. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the status and progress of school building projects at four schools in Dublin mid-west (details supplied). [74216/26]

Scoil Chronain

The major building project for the school referred to by the deputy is part of my Department's Employer Led Design programme and will deliver a 16 classroom primary school and accommodation, including 2 classrooms, for children with special educational needs on the permanent site at Rathcoole, Co. Dublin.

The project progressed to tender on the 28th February 2025.  The tender returns were received on 2nd of May 2025. Tenders were evaluated by the Design Team and following due diligence carried out and discussions with the preferred tenderer, the company withdrew their tender.  The department’s design team is now carrying out due diligence in relation to the next placed tenderer with a view to submitting a tender assessment report for my department’s consideration.  This project requires a Reserved Specialist and the tender process for the Reserved Specialists is on-going with tenders returned on 2nd of September 2026.  My department and the design team are monitoring the current progression of the project in terms of the planning permission and if necessary, will prepare the documentation for an application to extend the current planning permission ahead of its expiry later this year.

I have asked my department officials to continue their engagement with the school over the coming months and to provide any necessary guidance.

Lucan Community College.

The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is a large scale capital project for the construction of a new extension and the refurbishment of existing facilities to accommodate 1,000 pupils, including provision for Special Educational Needs (SEN) classrooms.

More than four years has elapsed since the publication of the contract notice and more than two years since the tender submission deadline. Given the passage of time since tenders were returned and the unacceptably high risk that the contract may not successfully be delivered within budget, the ETB were instructed to collapse the tender procedure in July 2025.

Phase 1 of the project is currently being delivered under my department's Modular Framework to deliver 9 general classrooms and 2 specialist classrooms. This also includes the repurposing of part of the existing accommodation to include classrooms for children with Special Educational Needs in the interim.

The Deputy will be aware that 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.

It is in this context that any future project for the school in question will be considered, and I can assure the deputy that department officials have been in contact with the patron in relation to this matter.

St Thomas JNS & Scoil Áine SNS

The joint school building project will deliver two new 24 classroom primary schools with accommodation for children with special educational needs, at the current site in Lucan.

The project is currently at an early stage of Architectural Planning Stage 1 – Initial Sketch Scheme. A preferred design option has been agreed by all Stakeholders and following a request by my Department for additional information from the Design Team, the stage 1 report was received by my Department in May 2025. The Department have completed their review and have issued their comments to the School and Design Team.

As part of planning ahead, the department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027 to assess and evaluate individual projects, including the project referred to by the Deputy, to progress through the design pipeline, having regard to the continual need to maximise existing capacity and determine the prioritised needs going forward. An instruction for progression to Stage 2a will be issued in due course once internal governance procedures are complete.

Divine Mercy JNS & SNS

The joint major building project is currently at an advanced stage of Architectural Planning - Stage 2(b) - Detailed Design.  During this stage, statutory approvals are obtained and the project design is further progressed to reflect any conditions of planning.

This joint school building project will deliver a new extension and refurbishment of some existing accommodation to provide a 24 classroom primary school with classrooms for children with special educational needs, at both schools.

The schedule of accommodation was recently increased to include SEN accommodation and the design options submitted by the Design Team are being evaluated by my Department.

A meeting of all stakeholders is anticipated to be held in the near future, to discuss and agree a preferred option which can be further developed and prepared to be submitted for planning permission.