Schools Building Projects
Dail Éireann — 2026-06-09
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Noel Grealish (IND), Galway West

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. I will outline to the Dáil the current position on investments in school infrastructure in County Waterford. Waterford county is broken down into five school planning areas. An analysis of the primary school population in Waterford indicates that primary school enrolments will reduce in all areas over the next five years, with the exception of the school planning area of Ring, which may see a small increase in enrolments. Post-primary enrolments in all areas are projected to remain steady and to peak in the next few years.
There are currently four school projects under construction in County Waterford. These projects are in addition to €150 million in capital funding for County Waterford schools since 2020. During that period, over 30 schools in County Waterford were upgraded through the provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or the provision of modular accommodation. In addition, approximately 120 small-scale improvement works were undertaken across the county's schools to address maintenance needs and enhance energy efficiency. Furthermore, since 2020, a total of 68 special classes have been sanctioned in County Waterford, of which 17 were sanctioned for September 2026.
As the Deputy will be aware, the Department published the €7.55 billion NDP sectoral investment plan for the education and youth sectors for the period from 2026 to 2030 earlier this year. Of the total €7.55 billion investment, it is envisaged that approximately €5 billion will be used for project roll-out to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings across the large-scale, additional accommodation, modular and annual September accommodation needs programmes.
The Department continues to build on the progress made over recent years with the roll-out of projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs in terms of provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, the Department also published a list of 105 school building projects in the first tranche to proceed to construction or tender over 2026 and 2027. This list included two projects in County Waterford, one of which is the now under construction. The second project has moved to tender stage.
As part of planning ahead for the next tranche of projects to progress to tender, a Department-led prioritisation process will continue over the course of 2026 and 2027. This will include engagement with key stakeholders, including meetings with patrons this month. The Department-led energy and condition survey of the school estate, which will be finalised later in 2026, will provide an additional evidence base for assessing priorities. A next tranche of projects to proceed to tender is expected to be announced in 2027.
Investment under the plan also involves the delivery of the first tranche of 297 projects under the climate action summer works scheme. This includes seven projects in County Waterford that are approved to undergo works this summer.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-06-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-09