2025-12-11

99. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [70576/25]

Deputy Timmins is taking this question.

For Deputy Brennan, yes. There are four schools in Wicklow under Project Dargle: St. Kevin's Community College, Dunlavin; Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew; Arklow CBS; and Avondale Community College in Rathdrum. These schools are all in need of the proposed development. The areas they serve are growing in population. With the new, hugely increased housing targets for County Wicklow, these developments are needed more than ever. What is the current status of these builds?

Since 2020, the Department of education has invested over €6 billion in school projects throughout the country under the national development plan, involving the completion of over 1,300 school building projects. Over €159 million has been invested in schools across County Westmeath and €234 million in schools across County Wicklow in that period. Project Dargle, the project bundle referred to by the Deputy, comprises seven post-primary schools in Westmeath and Wicklow devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA. These school building projects are flagship projects and will provide new, modernised, high-quality, permanent facilities catering for almost 6,000 students. This will transform the education infrastructure for these school communities now and in the decades ahead, enabling students to benefit from purpose-built facilities. All seven schools are at stage 2b of the architectural design process. This is an important stage which allows for detailed design and planning, obtaining necessary statutory permissions and preparation of tender documents. Stage 2b is being finalised at the moment. The length of time a project takes to go through each stage varies depending on a number of factors, including scale and complexity. In July, the Government announced a capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth for the period 2026 to 2030 under the national development plan. As part of this allocation, the Department will place a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs, with a particular focus on meeting annual school place needs. In relation to the project's roll-out, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate in the first instance and to provide necessary additional capacity through a targeted and prioritised project roll-out over the course of the 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs. The Department will continue to provide guidance and practical support as required. The NDFA will engage directly with school authorities to keep them fully informed.

With the Minister of State's indulgence, I will go through each of the four schools. First is St. Kevin's Community College, Dunlavin. Demand for places continues to grow. Planning has been in place for over two years. Dunlavin and its hinterland population continue to grow and the school serves east Kildare as well as west Wicklow. There is a plan for four rooms for special classes. The lack of suitable rooms in the current build means students' options are limited. The library is now a classroom. Computer rooms have been converted to general classrooms. Second is Avondale Community College in Rathdrum. The new school campus will see capacity at the secondary school increase from 660 to 1,000 students. The school is far over capacity. Many rooms and spaces are no longer fit for purpose but the school cannot invest in upgrades or fixes to classrooms, practical rooms and laboratories. This is completely stalled. They are waiting on the new build.

I thank the Deputy for his ongoing interest in these projects across Wicklow. Wicklow is one of the major challenges we have in terms of school capacity each year. At post-primary level, there is always a challenge. The projects are at stage 2b, with full planning permission granted. I have had a number of conversations with Deputies this morning about projects where planning permission is awaited but in these cases it has been granted. I take the points the Deputy made about capacity issues in Dunlavin, Rathdrum and across Wicklow. It is great to see there will be four additional special classrooms in St. Kevin's Community College. This is what we need for an integrated policy. It is at stage 2b and is being finalised at the moment. I will ensure the Department and everybody concerned works closely to finalise it as fast as possible.

Coláiste Bhríde, Carnew, is a special case. It seeks inclusion of a playing pitch with the building project. The new school will have a capacity for 1,000 students but there is no playing pitch included. The school currently has the land required and planning permission but the key issue is the cost of levelling the site. It put a proposal to the NDFA for pitch groundworks, which was rejected, but it still hopes the Department will reconsider. The current building at Arklow CBS is simply unfit for purpose. There is a project, for which we have been promised a sod-turning next May, in Blessington Community College in west Wicklow. That project has been put back on a number of occasions. The school is currently full of prefabs. It desperately needs a school building in what is a massively growing town just 19 miles from where we sit today. I ask that this project move to final tender stage and a contractor be appointed as soon as possible.

We know there is a particular issue in relation to planning for school builds. There is a lack of flexibility in the system and there needs to be a greater level of agility. I brought this issue up previously with regard to Ardee Educate Together National School. It is a national school and a great build but the problem is there are 21 parking spaces and double that number are needed. There are only two set-down places for minibuses for children with disabilities who are brought to the school and there is a need for five. There is a lot of space to do this but building is about to continue, which means that when the situation is eventually resolved, it will be a lot more costly. Engagement is needed between Louth County Council, the design team, contractors and the Department. If an official could come back to me with a response, we could get a solution for the school.

I would appreciate if Deputy Ó Murchú could pass me the roll number of the school. We will then take up the matter and I will see what we can do with it. On the school in Blessington, I do not have the details to hand but we will come back to Deputy Timmins on it. I take his point in relation to the sod-turning and so forth. There is nothing more frustrating than commitments being given and deadlines being passed. On the schools in Carnew and Arklow, these are parts of projects that have been delivered under the NDFA. With regard to the level of commitment by the Department to move these projects on under a new system, this will be very informative for the Department into the future. Deputy Timmins asked about the project in Carnew. I will come back to him on that. The Department does not have a bottomless pot of money. There is a lot of pressure on the system, particularly in Wicklow, with regard to school places. I will endeavour to get a more detailed response for the Deputy on the issues he raised. Suffice to say, these projects are bundled together and we are committed to working through them.