Schools Building Projects
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Hildegarde Naughton (FG), Galway West

I thank the Deputy. In general, the Department works with schools on planning permissions that may be due to expire. That work happens all the time. With the priority list, we look at a number of issues, including: demographic pressures; schools that may not have their own home, in that they may be working out of a sports facility; whether they are ready to proceed to stage 3; whether they are maximising the capacity within their existing school footprint; and, importantly, where there is a focus on special educational needs, SEN, classes. This is a top priority for the Minister of State and me and it feeds into our building projects as well. We want to ensure our children and students can attend their local school. That will require special education classes to be prioritised as part of our building projects.

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Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28