As we are moving towards the recess, I thank the Ceann Comhairle, and indeed, the officials in her office and all of the staff across the House for all of their work during the year that has made this place run so smoothly.

I wish to raise the question of Bunclody Community College. I have had to do it on a number of occasions. This is an excellent and very inclusive school in Bunclody, County Wexford on the Wexford-Carlow border. It has 310 students. It has had a 42% increase in enrolments since 2019. It has an incredibly dedicated principal, staff and board of management, but it also has great supports from the wider Bunclody community. The local councillor there, Barbara-Anne Murphy, has regularly raised this as one of most critical issues around the long-term development of the Bunclody community. To say that the school, and indeed, the wider area are deeply frustrated by the lack of progress is an understatement. This is an excellent school, but when it comes to its physical infrastructure, the school is in dire straits. Of all the schools in the constituency in terms of physical infrastructure that I deal with, it is the worst that I have encountered. There are few anywhere else in the country that I have come across that are more deserving of the necessary work that has to happen. That is not an exaggeration.

I challenge the Minister of State, or indeed, any Deputy to name any other second level school in the country where all but three of the mainstream classrooms are in prefabs. Almost all of the mainstream provision of the school operates out of prefabs. Some of those prefabs are over 20 years old.

It is a split campus, so students have to walk 500 m from one campus in one area of the school to another campus, crossing a busy regional road. That is fine in weather like this, although I know the school is not open at the moment, but the Minister of State, as a teacher, can imagine the pressure that places on students and parents in winter, such as in the winter we just had.

When I submitted a parliamentary question to the Department of education on the number of schools in the country operating on split campuses, I found it unusual that this school was one of the schools included in the reply, even though that fact is a critical part of its application for work to be done.

The process of redeveloping this expanding and very inclusive school started in 2014. I am sure the Ceann Comhairle will remember being approached by the then principal, staff and others. Pressure has been applied. When capital decisions were being made by the Department of education I asked why this school was not included and what criteria were used. I was able to say it is a disadvantaged school, a DEIS school, and one of the top schools in the country for championing support for Traveller education. It is deeply committed to inclusive education for those with disabilities or indeed with exceptional abilities and all students are supported and challenged to thrive. I outlined the physical challenges it faces.

I am sure the Minister of State will read out the Department's response telling us the project is at stage 2b. I have regularly referred to stage 2B in the Department of education as "purgatory". In Catholic philosophy, purgatory is that period of purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. I hope the Minister of State will be able to provide some of the joy of heaven for Bunclody Community College in her response today.

The Minister of State might be like the Pope and get rid of limbo.

It is not often I am asked in this House to behave like the man above. I am not sure what I can deliver from purgatory. Nonetheless, I heard what Deputy Byrne said about the conditions, which he told us are unique and among the worst in the country. He also spoke of the commitment of the staff. While I am not personally familiar with the school, I know that schools where conditions are not good or are very poor often have the most committed staff. I have a response here from the Minister for education and my job is to read it to the Deputy.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am speaking on behalf of the Minister for education. The project referred to by the Deputy is devolved for delivery to the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board, WWETB. The project brief is to provide an extension to the existing school building, as well as the appropriate refurbishment of those existing buildings to be retained for ongoing educational use. As the Deputy said, the project is currently at stage 2b - I will remember the term "purgatory" again - of the architectural design process. A stage 2b report has been received from WWETB. The report is undergoing a detailed technical and cost review in line with the infrastructure guidelines. All projects, including this one, are subject to such due diligence requirements.

The Department has been actively engaged with the design team and school authority throughout the process and will continue to engage to provide practical advice and assistance on this important project. The Department has a strong track record of investing in the schools building programme, with over €7 billion invested since 2020. This has delivered approximately 1,500 completed school building projects, along with approximately 4,300 small-scale improvement works to meet priority maintenance needs and advance energy efficiency and climate goals.

Over €200 million in capital funding has been invested in Wexford schools since 2020. Over this period, a total of 66 schools in Wexford have been upgraded either through provision of a new school building, a large-scale extension or modular accommodation. There are currently 17 school projects in Wexford under construction.

A total capital allocation of €7.55 billion for the Department of Education and Youth has been confirmed for the period 2026 to 2030 under the national development plan, NDP. 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 project roll-out for large-scale projects and additional school accommodation scheme projects, the approach will be to continue to maximise the capacity of the existing school estate as much as possible in the first instance and provide necessary additional capacity through targeted and prioritised project roll-out over the course of 2026 to 2030 period to meet the most urgent and prioritised needs.

While not every project could be included in the first tranche, all projects continue to move through the pipeline. Urgent accommodation needs will continue to be met through modular delivery, SEN repurposing and the emergency works scheme. As part of the Department-led prioritisation process under way for 2026 and 2027, consultation with school patrons began last month. A further tranche of priority projects is targeted for publication in 2027, informed by departmental analysis, engagement with patrons and schools, funding parameters and, where relevant, the Department's energy and condition inventory of the school estate, due for completion by year-end.

I appreciate the Minister of State is responding on behalf of the Minister but the response provides nothing new. It is almost a carbon copy of the response I received when I raised this issue in January last. We talk about the NDP allocation, and the Department's response refers to "a strong emphasis on provision for children with special educational needs" and those who are disadvantaged. This is a DEIS school with a large Traveller population. The school made clear, including in a meeting with the Minister of State with responsibility for special education, Deputy Michael Moynihan, that while it has a number of SEN classes already, there is also a possibility of developing a special school on a site adjoining the school. This school has a superb record of supporting disadvantaged students, yet it seems to be placed at a disadvantage.

I am conscious the Minister of State referred to additional capital investment in 2027. I fully expect and will continue to campaign to ensure this school is included in the 2027 capital list because it deserved to be addressed before now. I ask the Minister of State to bring back to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, a request that she meet the WWETB, as the patron body, the principal and me to talk about outstanding issues, if any. As the Minister of State said, all of the necessary information has long been provided by the WWETB to the Department. I have outlined the conditions and the Department is aware of them. The Minister of State is right that in times of adversity, it is often the staff and school community that fight better, but these kids and this school deserve a hell of a lot better. They should not be waiting this long to have basic requirements.

I will relay the Deputy's request that the Minister consider meeting him with the WWETB and the school principal. I am not sure what requests have been received, and I cannot speak on the Minister's behalf, but I will certainly relay that request.

The Department is committed to ensuring appropriate accommodation is available for all school pupils and will, in the wider context outlined, ensure each school project on the schools building programme is subject to the due diligence required under the infrastructure guidelines. The Department is required to manage the timing, scope and cost of individual projects in order to remain within budgetary parameters for the overall programme. This involves constant review throughout the project life cycle.

The Department remains committed to providing ongoing guidance and practical support for the delivery of this project. As I outlined previously, WWETB, as the delivery body for this large-scale major project, will continue to engage with the school authorities regarding this important project.

I have to say that the next line of my written reply states that at this stage it is not possible to provide a timeline for the completion of this project. I can understand why that meeting is of great importance to the Deputy. The progression of the project tender will be considered as part of the overall prioritisation process, and Waterford and Wexford ETB will continue to engage directly with the school authorities to keep them fully informed of progress.