School Accommodation
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-05
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Michael Moynihan (FF), Cork North-West

I welcome Senator Kyne's engagement. It is hugely important that we continue, right across Government and the Oireachtas, to articulate the issues that are important to our communities, including those relating to the Bish. The Senator is right in saying that there is still some work to be done by the school community. That work needs to be done as a matter of urgency. The documentation to be submitted as part of the stage 2b process is very detailed but there are many great firms working with schools on them. It is important that this is done as a matter of urgency. The Senator's engagement on this will certainly help matters. The Department will work with him and the community, but it is most important that the 2b report is submitted. The Department will liaise back and forth with the school authorities, patron and management.
The Government has announced the first tranche of schools, which means that there is clear guidance as to what projects will be going ahead in the near future. It is our intention to review that continuously. It is important for school communities that are anxious to proceed with their projects to submit any outstanding documentation to the Department as soon as possible. The Department will work with school communities, but it must operate within financial constraints.
The Senator's engagement with the Tánaiste and the Ministers for public expenditure and for education will be helpful. We understand the need that exists out there and will be working to meet it. We had to give certainty as to what projects are going ahead in a timely fashion. We will work with schools on the other projects to make sure that their paperwork is in order. We fully understand the need for this project within the community in Galway.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-05/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:35+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-05