School Accommodation Dail Éireann — 2026-07-07 ============================================================ Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (FF), Carlow-Kilkenny I thank the Deputy for raising this serious issue. While a lot of work is being done in the Department, information is needed. That will be vital when I speak to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, tomorrow and bring back these issues. I am taking this matter on her behalf. The school building project for Coachford primary school was approved to enter the Department of Education and Youth’s pipeline under the additional school accommodation scheme. The project will provide a two-class special educational needs unit, one mainstream classroom and one special education teaching room. The project has been devolved for delivery to the school authority. The school received approval to progress the project to stage 2b, detailed design. It is currently with the planning authority for approval as additional information was required by the planning authority. Departmental officials are awaiting the planning outcome and the submission of the stage 2b report for approval. Although this project is not included in the first tranche of school building projects to proceed to tender and construction under the NDP sectoral investment plan, it remains part of the Department’s overall pipeline. The plan emphasises maximising existing capacity and prioritising projects that address the most urgent needs, with a strong focus on special education provision. That is important for the Department. The Department will continue to progress projects on a prioritised basis to meet demand for additional capacity and the modernisation of existing facilities. The next tranche of projects to proceed to tender will be announced in 2027 and planning for this and future tranches will continue throughout 2026 and 2027, with projects assessed based on their progress through the design pipeline, capacity needs and overall prioritisation. This process will involve engagement with stakeholders and schools and will be supported by the findings of the energy and condition survey, due for completion later in 2026. As prioritisation continues, additional projects will be progressed where justified by urgency and readiness to proceed and subject to feasibility within available funding parameters. Opportunities for advance enabling works will be considered for the most urgent and complex projects to support delivery from 2028 onwards. Interim accommodation needs will continue to be assessed on a case-by-case basis to determine appropriate solutions. The Department will continue to engage with the school regarding accommodation. I welcome this because it is important that everybody get information. At least there is some clarification there for the Deputy. I know we need to get more. The school has the teachers but needs to know what is going forward. I will go back to the Minister with this one. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-07/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-07