2026-03-19

In Carlow-Kilkenny, the reality facing students, parents and school staff is very different from the picture that is often presented by the Government. We are seeing steady population growth, more young families and increasing demand for school places, but the delivery of school buildings is simply not keeping pace. Across the country, and specifically in my constituency, schools are relying on prefabs that were meant to be temporary but have now become long-term fixtures. Children are being taught in overcrowded classrooms with limited facilities, while projects that have been announced or approved are taking years to materialise. The core issue here is not a lack of planning, but a lack of adequate capital funding that reflects today's construction costs. I acknowledge the €7.6 billion that has been put aside in the national development plan, NDP, but putting it simply, it is not enough. The reality is that inflation in the building sector has fundamentally changed this picture. Projects that were costed a number of years ago are now far more expensive to deliver. As a result, we have a situation where schools have approval in principle, but in practice, they are stuck in limbo because the funding no longer matches the real cost of building. This is deeply frustrating for school communities. Boards of management, principals and parents are doing everything asked of them. They are engaging with the Department, progressing designs and identifying sites, yet they are left waiting, sometimes for years, with no clear timeline for delivery. All of this is happening at a time when the State is in a very strong financial position. The question has to be asked as to why, when the resources are available, we are still seeing such delays in delivering essential school infrastructure in places like Carlow and Kilkenny. This cannot continue. Temporary accommodation is not a long-term solution. Children only get one chance at their education, and they deserve to learn in proper, permanent facilities. As of this morning, on the Government website for the Department of education, there are 284 large-scale projects and 878 additional accommodation projects in the pipeline. That is 1,162 projects across the country, 30 of which are in my constituency. The latest round of capital funding showed that only 105 schools were funded. Based on this logic, it will be well over a decade before some of these projects even get the nod to go ahead to the design stage. What additional capital funding can be allocated in 2026 specifically to address these delays? Will the Government commit to reviewing and increasing the capital budget for school buildings so that approved projects can be delivered on time? Ultimately, this is about delivery. It is about turning announcements into actual buildings and ensuring that schools in constituencies like mine are not left behind.

I thank Deputy Cleere for raising the issue of school building projects in general, and our need to deliver more, but also specifically in relation to his constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny. As he knows, since 2020, some €6.7 billion has been invested to increase capacity and upgrade school facilities. This is a record level of investment. Some €210 million in capital funding went to County Kilkenny and €51 million in capital funding went to County Carlow. Over that period, we saw 43 schools in County Kilkenny and 25 schools in County Carlow either being upgraded, having extensions built or getting additional accommodation. We also saw 45 special classes sanctioned for Kilkenny, eight of which are sanctioned for this September, and 32 extra special classes sanctioned for County Carlow, five of which are sanctioned for this September. I take the point. The Deputy would not be doing his job if he were not restless to see even more projects delivered in his constituency. However, I would make the point that we have, quite rightly, invested a lot in education buildings in Carlow and Kilkenny and, indeed, across the country. As the Deputy said, the Minister, Deputy Naughton, published the €7.55 billion sectoral investment plan for education earlier this year. There are six projects in the counties of Carlow and Kilkenny. There are also a further ten schools in those two counties that are now approved to undergo summer works schemes this summer. The Deputy is right that there is more to do. I want people in Carlow, Kilkenny and throughout the country to know that this is not the final word on capital when it comes to education. In the medium-term fiscal plan that the Government has agreed, and that was approved at a European level only a couple of weeks ago, there is further capital to be allocated in the time ahead. As a Government, while we are not making decisions on it today, we will be eager to invest that in areas where we believe we can deliver real progress in communities in a speedy fashion. Schools and education have a very strong track record. The beauty of a school building project is that if you give it the green light, it goes ahead and it gets delivered quickly. We see them right across the country. The Deputy is right that there are a number of projects at stage 2B, which, for the benefit of those watching, are the projects that are basically waiting to go to detailed design, the phase before going to tender. I genuinely believe that we will be able to make progress on many of them in the time ahead. Perhaps up to 15 of them could be in the Deputy’s constituency, which is also the constituency of the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, in the interests of balance. We will review that matter in due course. The priority in the here and now is getting on with delivery, which, as the Deputy mentioned, is important. We have given a very large allocation of over €7 billion to education. We need to see quick progress on those projects. We will be reviewing and monitoring this matter. To the schools in the Deputy’s constituency and every constituency, this is not the final word on capital funding for education for schools from this Government.

I am delighted to hear that additional funding will be made available. I look forward to engaging with the Tánaiste to deliver these projects. In Carlow, schools like Borris College and St. Mary's Academy CBS are under pressure. The projects are ready to go. They just need the green light from the Department. If we move over to Kilkenny, the situation is just as concerning. Kilkenny City Vocational School and Coláiste Pobail Osraí are waiting on their new shared campus. Castlecomer Community College and Coláiste Abhainn Rí in Callan have been excluded from the last round of Government funding. These schools are operating at full capacity, and delays only make conditions worse. St. Senan’s National School in Kilmacow and Church Hill National School are ready to go. We have the magnificent St. Kieran's College, which, again, has a project ready to go. Its pupils were all-Ireland champions again on St. Patrick's Day, their 26th title, so hurling is strong, alive and well in Kilkenny, the Tánaiste and the House will be glad to hear. If we are serious about education, we cannot continue to delay investment where it is clearly needed. Students deserve a safe, modern space to learn, not uncertainty and overcrowding. It is time for action. I welcome the Tánaiste's comment that additional funding is going to be made available. It is time that these schools get the funding they urgently require.

I was making an effort to write them down, but I think the Deputy named nearly all of the 15 schools we had on the list. That was a good tour of the constituency. Whether they are schools in Carlow or Kilkenny, I get it. There is obviously great joy when a school list comes out and your school is on the list, but there is that sense of apprehension as to what it means for the school. That is why I really want those schools to know it is not the final word. The Government is very clear in relation to that. Our medium-term fiscal plan, more importantly, is clear in relation to that as well. There is, I think, €4 billion in capital funding in that plan that, in the lifetime of this Government, we will have an opportunity to allocate. The key thing right now is the delivery of all of the projects we have funded, including the projects in Carlow and Kilkenny, the summer works schemes that will take place in Carlow and Kilkenny, and the extra special classes that will open in both of those counties and right across the country. We continue to work with schools that are at stage 2B to seek to move them on. We will keep in touch with the Deputy in relation to that.