Schools Building Projects

I appreciate the Minister of State being here today on behalf of the Minister and the Department of education in relation to the matter. To give a bit of context, St. Patrick's National School in Celbridge, along with St. Raphael's Special School and Celbridge Community School, are all awaiting an update on the status on the new three-school campus for Celbridge, which has been sitting at stage 2a for far too long. This is a vital project needed for the community and, in particular, for those three school communities, which are on a daily basis looking after and educating some of our must vulnerable young people locally. As I outlined, St. Patrick's National School is one of the schools involved in this project. This is a school I have raised in this Chamber repeatedly since being elected, and previously as a councillor in Leixlip-Celbridge. It is incomprehensible to me that a generation or two of children having passed through the school, we are still located at this temporary location and still at the starting point for a new build. In January 2026, the Minister, Deputy Naughton, newly appointed, took one of her first school visits. She accompanied me to the school building, which, at this point, had been through its 18th winter and looked every bit of it. There were leaks in the roof. There was damage. The Minister obviously recognised what she saw and changes were put in place. Since her visit and me raising the matter, the Department allocated significant funding for repair works on the temporary build, which, at the last count, cost €980,000. In the last number of months, just under €1 million has been spent. At the same time, there are still some outstanding snags and works to be completed. There is still works on the flooring and works needed on the roof. Fire doors need work and the heating needs to be addressed. That is after €1 million having been spent. Last week, alongside my other colleagues, I returned to the school. We are still working with the principal and the chair of the board of management, who met us after school time. We know and acknowledge that a lot of positive work has been done to make the school safe for the staff and children. I thank the staff, the children and the parents for their patience on this. We know the school closing was a drastic step. The day it happened made the national news. At the same time, however, that brought attention to a significant and serious issue. I am very conscious that in the next two weeks, the workers in the school will be leaving. The site will be moving away. At the same time, are we 100% sure those works and improvements have been checked? The principal and the board of management have been highlighting this to the Department. Ultimately, they have highlighted it to us as public representatives. I am asking today that the Department of education reviews these works, looks over those snags, ensures that the work is done properly and liaises with the principal before signing off on these works in order that we, as public representatives for the taxpayer, ensure that we get value for money from the work that was done and to ensure that the Department of education gets that value for money too.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter, as it provides me with an opportunity on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, to provide an update to the House regarding the Celbridge campus school building project. The Celbridge campus project, comprising of Scoil Naomh Pádraig, St. Raphael’s Special School and Celbridge Community School, represents an important element of the Department of Education and Youth’s overall school building programme. This project is being delivered under the Department's major devolved programme, which works with external delivery partners to progress the project through the relevant stages of architectural planning, tender and construction. The project has been devolved for delivery to the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, as part of a bundled school building programme called Project Shannon. The project is currently at stage 2a of the architectural design process. During this stage, the project design is further developed, cost planning is progressed and preparations are made to submit the project for statutory approvals. The stage 2a meeting took place in April 2026, during which the Department's professional and technical team provided technical feedback. The NDFA subsequently submitted an addendum report addressing the comments made. The Department provided further feedback in relation to the addendum report, which is currently being addressed by the design team and the NDFA. All school building projects, as they progress through the pipeline, must undergo the necessary due diligence outlined in the infrastructure guidelines and capital works management framework. Regarding the ongoing works at St. Patrick's National School, I can confirm that significant remediation works have been undertaken. All issues identified have been addressed and remediated accordingly, including emergency roof repairs, installation of additional modular units to facilitate phased decanting, scaffolding to support works at height and comprehensive classroom-level remediation works, including flooring and fire doors. In addition to remediation works, the heating system has also been upgraded and a new boiler installed. The upgrade to the heating system identified maintenance issues with radiators and a further issue with a soft floor in a classroom. These are currently under review and the Department will ensure an ongoing project management presence at the school until these final works are completed. These additional works will not affect the normal operation of the school. Additional practical measures requested by the school, such as the provision of quiet spaces and classroom equipment, have also been facilitated. There has been good engagement between the Department, the school and the project managers in relation to the works. There has been consistent on-site project management presence, with weekly updates provided to the school to ensure ongoing communication and progress reporting. All works have been planned on a phased basis to minimise disruption, including maximising work during periods when the school is closed, such as holiday periods. Any applicable documentation pertaining to works will be provided to the school upon completion of the works. Department officials will continue to engage with the school authorities over the coming months and provide any necessary guidance.

I thank the Minister of State. He dealt with both subjects separately. That is correct. This first issue is that we need the three-school campus. We have been at a stage where it has been designated for a number of years at a location, yet it has not moved. As a councillor, I would have heard responses. I am not saying they are similar, because we have a new status. At the same time, however, other reasons and rationales were given for why things at a certain status in the system. Our biggest issue here is that they are not moving quickly enough. They ultimately have not moved to 2b, where we need to get it to, followed by building the development. We could talk, see reports and give reasons why but ultimately if it is not delivered on the ground, which this has not been, there will not be the trust locally that it will be done. We need to get that changed. I will speak on the second issue. Ultimately, a lot of work has been done. I acknowledge and understand that, but at the same time I was in the building last week. I took a tour of it and saw some of the issues at first hand. I saw doors that did not work the way they should have, doors that did not open the way they should have, handles that had come off, areas where there were little leaks and doors that would not fully open. I am not here to alarm anyone but, at the same time, no more than anyone else when significant work was done, be it in the Minister of State's or the Ceann Comhairle's houses, I think we would all like to have it all signed off and reviewed, especially if the State is paying up to €1 million. That was at the last count. I am sure that bill has fully exceeded €1 million by now. What I am talking about here is the Department being tough and strong with the workers who are contracting and the company that is doing it, ensuring that they do not leave a site where the work is not fully completed and signed off on. That is ultimately where we need to get to and while I acknowledge the engagement that we have had to date, that engagement needs to be really clear towards the finish.

The Department is committed to ensuring appropriate school places are available for all school pupils and that our schools are equipped with modern facilities required to support teaching and learning. Since 2020, the Department of Education and Youth has provided €458.05 million in capital funding for Kildare schools. Over this period, a total of 74 schools have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or provision of modular accommodation, while 12 school projects due to go to tender or construction in 2026 and 2027 were included in the national development plan, NDP, implementation plan. There are currently 15 school projects under construction in Kildare, including large-scale, extension, modular or climate pathfinder projects. The current status of all projects continues to be set out under the tenth item on the Department’s website under building works for the construction, extension and refurbishment of schools. This is updated regularly to reflect project progress through capital appraisal, site acquisition, design, tender, and construction stages. The accommodation requirements at all schools in the Celbridge campus will be considered as part of the ongoing overall Department-led prioritisation process, in consultation with the school’s patron and school authorities.