2026-03-03

I want to discuss the additional accommodation scheme, especially as it relates to schools in County Mayo. So far, 16 schools at various stages of this scheme have reached out to me. They all stress the need for timely and adequate additional accommodation. Mayo has a wide network of schools that has a vast mix. Some are rural, some are urban. We have some island schools, some Gaeltacht schools and some DEIS schools. No doubt they are all doing excellent work but in many cases they are tasked with carrying out this work in buildings that are outdated, overcrowded or inadequate. My main issue this evening though is around communication. I have principals, boards of management and parents who are really frustrated that they do not know what is happening with their particular buildings. Clear timelines are not available. Everybody knows the stages but the timelines of the stages are not clear. It is my understanding that, to be considered for capital funding under the national development plan announcement, schools need to be at stage 2b, but getting to this stage can be a real struggle. This year, no Mayo schools were announced in the 2026-27 tranche and that caused huge frustration, because I had principals who genuinely thought that sods might be turned on their new buildings this side of the summer. Where is the confusion if none of those schools was at stage 2b? I think of the Sacred Heart School in Westport that is currently at stage 2a. Three schools are depending on this particular build, namely, Holy Trinity National School, Westport Educate Together National School and the Sacred Heart School itself. The delays and uncertainty this is causing is having knock-on effects for all three schools, influencing enrolment numbers and, indeed, teacher numbers when enrolment drops. I think of Sancta Maria College in Louisburgh, which is waiting on its preliminary design to be reviewed by the Department even though the certificate of stage 1 completion was sent on 8 April last year. This school really has concerns about the viability of its two special education rooms because they are upstairs. This means that if there is an evacuation order, some students with mobility issues would have to be carried down the stairs. The principal has received no response to queries, despite sending numerous emails. The rising cost of building materials is a real concern. I think of Coláiste Pobail Acla, which is currently at stage 2a. It sent an addendum report on 6 June 2025 and despite regular follow-ups by the principal and the Mayo, Sligo and Leitrim Education and Training Board, ETB, the school is still waiting on a response on how this project might be progressed. Unfortunately, pyrite was confirmed in the new extension in December and the roof that was built in the 1980s is leaking as well. The school really feels unprepared if another Storm Éowyn was to come, as the school is on the edge of the Wild Atlantic Way. I think of St. Brendan's College in Belmullet. For its additional school accommodation, ASA, project, there is the replacement of prefab accommodation, special educational needs, SEN, provision and specialist rooms. The school's stage 1 report was submitted on 30 November 2022, and following agreement on the preferred design in September 2022, the school moved to stage 2a. The school has now had no movement in 20 months. There is a huge amount of frustration. We cannot really expect schools to plan for the future if they do not know if they will have enough classrooms, enough spaces for neurodivergent students or the facilities they desperately need. We cannot expect teachers and schools to deliver educational excellence in buildings that overcrowded and not fit for purpose. We should not be asking school communities to accept this uncertainty.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as an Saincheist Tráthúil a chur os comhair an Tí maidir le cursaí oideachais i gContae Mhaigh Eo. I thank the Deputy for raising the matter of schools and the various stages they are at in the Department of education in County Mayo. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for education. She apologises for not being able to be here. The Deputy highlighted a number of schools. I have made a list of them that I will refer back to the Department for the Deputy. She is right. Schools need certainty to plan for the future and that is the fundamental that we should all adhere to. The Department provides details of all live and completed projects. Information for ASA in schools in County Mayo is available on the Department’s website and further engagement is being made available. Since 2010, a total of €37.12 million in capital funding has been provided for ASA projects in County Mayo. There are currently 27 ASA projects at preliminary design stage, 21 projects at detailed design, one project at tender stage and 11 projects on site at construction stage. In addition, 42 ASA projects have been completed since 2020. As the Deputy will know, the Department recently published the NDP - she referenced in terms of the number of schools not included - for the period from 2026 to 2030. This NDP sectoral plan places an emphasis on maximising existing capacity and the prioritisation of school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. It is fair to say that in this context, the emphasis on special education roll-out is being applied. Of the total €7.5 billion investment, it is envisaged that around €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. Over the course of this year and next year, there will be construction work at around 10% of the school estate. These projects will, when completed, provide an additional 57,000 modernised school places with a strong special education needs focus in all projects. The Department will continue to lead and to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued 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. As I have said and the Deputy knows well, the Minister has published a list of the 105 school building projects that have been announced. In terms of the issues raised by Deputy Keogh, clarity has been provided to schools on annual December to January payment period for minor works and ICT grants to schools. The minor works grants for the 2026-27 school year were issued in December and the ICT grants were issued in January. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, is also commencing arrangements for increasing minor works funding at primary level and introducing minor works funding at post-primary level. Investment under the plan will also involve the delivery of 297 projects under the climate action summer works scheme. This includes 16 projects in County Mayo. The Department will continue to engage with patrons and schools in County Mayo and across the country to inform the progression of projects across the capital programme. I know there are schools on the list the Deputy read out that have not been allocated funding. Even though they have not been included in the first tranche of the prioritised projects, it is important that they engage and that we, as a Government and a Department, engage with the Deputy on the individual projects to see where they are in terms of that pipeline. She raised an important point on the status of projects, the information needed and the clarity needed for school communities and parents associations. In this context the Department will fund and invest in school communities where appropriate. I will bring the list that the Deputy outlined here back to the Department and I thank her for raising the matter.

The Minister of State should absolutely send my list to the Department, but he can be guaranteed that it already has my list. I thank him for the details he outlined. In his reply, he said that details of all live and completed projects are available on the website, but my big issue is that a school might be at stage 2a for 18 months. One school said it had no contact since April last year, another has had no contact in ten months, another said it was nine months and another said six months. St. Brid's Special School is in the ADAPT 3 fast track programme and some of the phrases that the principal has used to describe the process so far include "deep concern", "growing frustration" and "prolonged uncertainty". My big ask is that we get clear communication between the Department and schools. It is not unreasonable for a school to have a check-in once every six weeks or two months - even three months would be acceptable to some schools. I do not understand why a school that is at stage 1 thought it might be included in a funding tranche when, in fact, you need to be at stage 2b. If principals who have been there for a very long period of time are not aware of the process then there definitely is a communication breakdown somewhere. I would like to see explanations for what exactly happens in stage 1, stage 2a and stage 2b, and what the timelines to be expected are. If a school is currently at stage 2a - which many schools in Mayo are - I want, as their public representative, to get them to stage 2b before the next tranche of funding is announced so we are in with a chance of many of them getting funded and getting that moment of turning the sod. The bottom line is that every child in the State, including those in County Mayo, deserves the same opportunities, facilities and investment, and the access should not be different from one school to the next. I acknowledge that there has been a lot of funding into Mayo over recent years. It is unfortunate that in this case we were not included in the tranche, but I am hopeful that we will have a lot of schools at stage 2b at the next one.

As a former teacher and somebody who has been involved with schools both as a teacher, in terms of the construction of a new school in Ballincollig where I was teaching, and as a public representative, the Deputy is right. It is critical that clarity is provided and that we give certainty. As the Deputy said, that clear communication is very much required. The Department of Education and Youth and the Minister, Deputy Naughton, will continue to work with schools and patrons with regard to the schools building programme and the projects in County Mayo. It is important that we give hope to school communities and the schools. The Deputy was right to raise the issue on the floor of the Dáil. It is a desire we all share, but she outlined it for the pupils in County Mayo. They deserve to have the same level and quality of school build as their peers elsewhere in the country and to be taught in a campus that is modern and fit for purpose. We can go into some of the issues in terms of the schools. I was in a school yesterday and I wondered how we can still leave it open, despite the fact that the school community is phenomenal. It is a great school. The staff and students are resilient and the education output is phenomenal. However, it is important that the Department engages and that it explains the process clearly in terms of the projects the Deputy outlined and the progression of stages. It is something that all of us, not just as public representatives but as citizens, deserve. There needs to be greater transparency. I see Deputy McGrath here. We are dealing with some schools projects in Cork. There should be no mystique. If it is good news or bad news, let us have it out there. At least then schools will know where they stand, where they need to be, how they can progress and if there is a vacancy or a complication somewhere else, perhaps they can fit into the slot, get the money spent and get the school built. The Deputy makes a good point. I thank her for what she is doing. The important point from a Government point of view, and I am not being defensive, is that we are investing billions of euro in capital expenditure in education. We have delivered almost 1,400 completed school building projects and over 4,000 smaller-scale improvement projects since 2020. That does not solve the Deputy's problem, I take that point on board fully, but I look forward taking her views back to the Department. As she said, she is doing it already and I thank her for that.