Christopher O'Sullivan
Cork South-West · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“The aim of the hierarchy of the plan-making, as set out in the Act of 2024, is to improve scope for the various tiers of the planning system to more closely relate to one another, therefore providing greater clarity and consistency for all involved, from individual citizens and residents' groups to landowners and developers and ultimately…”
“My understanding is that a ten-year modernisation programme has already been undertaken by the Courts Service and significant progress has been made in improving the availability and use of court data.”
“Under the Act of 2024, the national planning framework continues to spearhead and explicate the planning agenda and sits at the pinnacle of the plan-led system and structure, whereby all tiers of planning from regional to local align with strategic objectives set out in the national planning framework.”
“The Senator has suggested that such plans would identify strategic development priorities, including settlement hierarchy, infrastructure corridors, climate adaptation measures and areas for regeneration; set out indicative phasing for major infrastructure and public investment; include spatial mapping of long-term development objectives;…”
“The Bill also facilitates the completion of the work of the Valuation Tribunal and the facility for the local authority to issue the levy demand and, where necessary, for An Coimisiún Pleanála to deal with any appeals to the demand that may arise in those existing cases currently with the tribunal.”
“As the system of plan-making in the State has just been revised and is being implemented for the first time, the introduction of another layer of plan-making could undermine the new hierarchy that was carefully arranged and agreed following extensive engagement with a range of stakeholders, including the Office of the Attorney General, an…”
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“Local authorities have responsibility for the administration of the scheme and will process the applications. On the Deputy’s point and question, we are in the very final stages of drafting the regulations. Drafting will be within the next couple of weeks, after which implementation can proceed.”
“Where the approved remediation option is the demolition of the relevant dwelling and its reconstruction, a relevant owner may be able to avail of funding under the scheme for the building of a home adjacent to the existing dwelling. Relevant owners can apply to the designated local authority for approval to construct a new dwelling in the curtilage of the relevant dwelling to replace the approved remediation option, subject to certain eligibility conditions. As this provision is an exemption from the normal rules of the scheme, which is fundamentally a scheme to remediate existing homes, the Deputy will appreciate that consideration had to be given to its drafting. This has meant some additional time was required to finalise the regulations.”
“The second set of regulations is currently at an advanced stage of drafting in relation to additional scheme improvements contained in the 2025 Act. These include the amendment that provides for an application for an adjacent remediation option in particular circumstances. Those are the ones Deputy Gallagher outlined so well. It became apparent that certain relevant owners who had received an option 1 demolition determination from the Housing Agency and who previously had their homes specifically adapted for use by persons with a disability were facing severe difficulties in finding suitable alternative accommodation that met their specialised requirements. The 2025 Act and forthcoming regulations will provide a possible remedy to this situation.”
“As the Deputy is aware, the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged by the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks (Amendment) Bill 2025 was initiated in Dáil Éireann on 2 December 2025, passed in both Houses of the Oireachtas and subsequently signed into law by the President, thereby becoming an Act, on 23 December 2025. A number of amendments came into operation on 25 February 2026, with related regulations also adopted on the same date. These changes provided that the increase in the grant scheme cap and rates from October and November 2024 can retrospectively benefit certain homeowners and they extended the period that applicants have for completed work from 65 to 130 weeks, along with reducing the time within which an applicant may apply for an extension from 12 to two weeks.”
“I thank Deputy Gallagher for raising this issue in the House. He represents a constituency and county that was very badly impacted by defective blocks. He has championed and represented the people in his constituency for many years, fought for the remediation scheme and continuously fought for the side-by-side construction amendment. The good news is that the regulations on side-by-side construction are in the final stages of drafting. We should see the completion of the drafting of the amendments within the coming weeks, after which they can be implemented.”
“I assure the House - and the Minister, Deputy Browne, will elaborate on this in his closing statement - that as a Government, we are doing everything possible to ensure we can end homelessness in Ireland once and for all”
“Over 17,000 is unacceptable, and we as Government are trying to move every possible lever of the State to ensure we deliver homes at speed and at scale so that we can reduce these homelessness figures. We have significantly increased direct investment in addressing homelessness, but as well as that, we are enabling an environment where the public and private sectors can contribute to the solutions when it comes to homelessness. We appreciate people in emergency accommodation, people on our streets and people who find themselves in homelessness go through incredible difficulty – . We understand and appreciate the turmoil and how this upends their lives.”
“The help to buy and the first home scheme continue to bridge the gap for first-time buyers struggling with deposits and mortgage limits. These schemes are not abstract policy instruments; they are enabling thousands of households to purchase their first home. Budget 2026 has continued the record level of investment in social housing, with €2.9 billion in capital allocated to support the delivery of social homes by local authorities. This continued investment in the social housing programme will increase the supply of stock available to allocate to households on the social housing waiting list, including households in emergency accommodation. The Government is not burying its head in the sand when it comes to homelessness. We are acutely aware there are far too many people in homelessness.”
“We want strong, deliverable projects that can hit the ground running and start unblocking housing delivery immediately. Housing delivery is at the centre of the revised national development plan. We are investing €102 billion over the next five years, an additional €33.9 billion on the previous NDP allocation. Overall investment of over €40 billion will be provided for housing and related water services to 2030. This funding will support vital water infrastructure projects, address historic bottlenecks in the system and accelerate us towards our delivery targets. Over the lifetime of the plan, we will deliver an average of 12,000 new social homes each year. This is an unprecedented commitment. In parallel, we will provide an average of 15,000 affordable housing supports annually through the starter homes programme and related initiatives.”
“It also includes €12.2 billion for water and wastewater services and €3.5 billion in equity funding for ESB Networks and EirGrid to make sure that we have the capacity in these vital services to make housing connections as and when they are needed. The Uisce Éireann investment is particularly significant. In January this year, the Government announced a new multi-annual €1 billion housing infrastructure investment fund to support direct investment in housing enabling infrastructure. The new fund will be managed by the housing activation office and will complement investment by infrastructure agencies, such as Uisce Éireann and ESB Networks, as part of a more co-ordinated approach. It will focus on projects that can move quickly and at scale.”
“Local authorities, together with approved housing bodies, the Land Development Agency and the construction sector will be critical to delivering and enabling the delivery of the quantum of homes needed over the lifetime of the plan. Central government will provide the policy, regulatory and funding frameworks to support housing delivery. Further to this, delivering homes, building communities is enabled by the largest ever capital investment in the history of the State. A total of €275 billion will be invested over the next ten years under the national development plan to significantly upgrade our infrastructure and make the environment for building homes much better. This cannot be overstated. This includes almost €20 billion to supply the delivery of the 72,000 social homes and 90,000 affordable home supports over the next five years.”
“Delivering homes, building communities takes pragmatic action across a number of different policy areas to boost housing supply, while ensuring that the new homes delivered support people who need them most. These two key objectives provide the foundational pillars in the plan: activating supply and supporting people. The first pillar, activating supply, is about removing structural barriers to homebuilding and ensuring we deliver 300,000 new homes in the lifetime of this plan. This includes measures aimed at unlocking land, reforming planning, delivering infrastructure and creating the conditions needed to increase investment in housing supply. Reaching the target of 300,000 new homes will only be achieved through the individual and collective effort of the key delivery partners.”
“In 2025, a total of 9,089 new build social homes were constructed. This is the highest delivery level on record. It is an increase of 1,256 homes, or a 16% increase, compared to 2024. Over 42,000 new build social homes have been delivered between 2022 and 2025. The latest figures show that 3,423 new homes were commenced in February of this year, an increase of 232% compared to the same period last year. Combined with January’s figures, 5,469 new homes have commenced since the start of the year, an increase of 147% on the 2,214 units commenced during the same period in 2025. To put things in a clearer perspective, across 2024 and 2025 combined, a total of 85,723 units were commenced. This represents an increase of 43% compared with the combined total for the previous two-year period.”
“It will ensure that the funding and strategies deployed to address housing and homelessness are fully aligned at all times. Direct funding for housing is at record levels. In 2026 alone, over €9 billion in capital funding will be provided through the Exchequer, the Land Development Agency and the Housing Finance Agency. A supply of housing and accommodation, in particular social, as well as affordable and private, remains the essential solution to addressing the challenges of homelessness and precarious living conditions in the longer term. A total of 36,284 new dwellings were completed in 2025. This represents a 20.4% increase on the same period in the previous year. This marks the highest number of completions recorded in any given year since the CSO began recording this data series in 2011.”
“A significantly greater supply of housing can be achieved through a balanced approach focused on both directly supporting people to have a home of their own but also creating the best possible conditions for the industry to build and activate more homes. This new plan commits to the building of 300,000 new homes. By the end of 2030, there will be 72,000 additional new build social homes built for those in our society that need them most. Our goal remains a housing system that truly serves the needs of our people. This is why we are committed to also providing 90,000 affordable housing supports. Delivering homes, building communities is ambitious, but the Government is fully committed to making it a reality. This is an integrated housing and homelessness plan that reaffirms the whole-of-government approach to addressing the housing crisis.”
“With this in mind, the programme for Government and the new housing plan reaffirmed Ireland's commitment to working towards ending homelessness by 2030. Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness. Last year saw the highest number of homes completed in more than a decade at more than 36,000. Delivering homes, building communities builds on the achievements and progress already made under Housing for All to further accelerate housing delivery. The key difference between Housing for All and this plan is a greater emphasis on creating the environment for more homes. To deliver more homes at speed, the State will indeed do more but this plan will also empower others, particularly the private sector, to play their part.”
“It is an honour to be in the Seanad today to talk about such an incredibly important issue, that is, homelessness in Ireland. I will set out the new housing plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030, which is building on the progress made in recent years to increase housing delivery across the board and social housing, in particular. The Minister, Deputy Browne, will conclude today’s discussion by outlining the many actions in the new housing plan that are targeted at ending homelessness. The Government is acutely aware that homelessness is the single most pressing social issue that we face and of the impact that experiences of homelessness have on households and children, in particular.”
“Hopefully there are exciting times ahead and we will see reserved functions and proper authority given back to local authority members, and that we curb the erosion of power that has taken place in terms of local government.”
“These will be published shortly. I will speak to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, to ensure that "shortly" means very shortly and immediately, and that the recommendations are followed through on. I know that the Senator is working on that already because I know she has met the Minister, Deputy Browne, and will meet him again to ensure those recommendations reflect the work that she has done and that they are followed through on and legislated for, if necessary. I sincerely thank everybody who fed into the work of the task force and everybody who compiled the recommendations. I outlined the number of meetings that were held. This was taken seriously with genuine and important feedback coming from members and civil servants from right across the board.”
“The term "shortly” is obviously not a prescribed time, but I am quite confident that we will see the results and the recommendations very shortly. As said in that statement, we will keep the momentum up. Any legislative changes that are required will build on the momentum from the task force.”
“That engagement offers great confidence that the task force recommendations are representative of the sector, together with civil society that relies so heavily upon local authorities on a day-to-day basis. The task force submitted its final report to the Minister, Deputy Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, in early March 2026, and these are currently under consideration. It is expected that the recommendations within the report, together with an implementation plan, will be brought to Government shortly. It is their intention to maintain the momentum that the report has generated by driving any legislative change that is required on foot of recommendations. I hope that gives the Senator some confidence.”
“As subject matter experts working within the sector, the pillar groups provided in-depth evidence-based information and advice to the task force to guide the preparation of all recommendations. In total, the task force, along with the pillar groups, had combined membership in excess of 50 people which saw the task force meet on nine occasions and the pillar groups meet in excess of 40 occasions. A wide stakeholder engagement was central to the task force’s work and included key organisations and bodies, employer and employee representatives, community and voluntary groups and experts at the discretion of the task force. The task force invited submissions from a broad range of stakeholders, including political parties, and I understand it had very high levels of engagement, including an engagement with Senator Fitzpatrick herself.”
“The task force was given an ambitious timeline of submitting its report within six to nine months, and the work that went before it meant that this short timeframe was achievable. The task force was chaired by Jim Breslin, a former senior public servant, and membership was made up of local authority elected member representative bodies, local authority executive representatives, officials from the National Oversight and Audit Commission, the Local Government Audit Service, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and a number of independent experts. The task force delivered its report by dividing the terms of reference into four specific themes. These themes were the structures, funding, functions, and governance and accountability provisions within the local authority sector.”
“I am going to go through the process in the two and half minutes I have left in terms of how this came about and where it is at the moment. The local democracy task force was established in June 2025 as a key commitment in the programme for Government. The terms of reference for the task force set out an ambitious and detailed work programme. In addition to the public consultation committee report from this House, the work of the task force was also built on a substantial body of work that had already been undertaken by the Association of Irish Local Government and the Council of Europe on the powers, functions and responsibilities of local government, which the Senator alluded to.”
“I agree with her that this is not reflected in their current conditions. I hope that it makes up part of the recommendations that have been provided by the task force. There is also the basic principle of strengthening the role of local authority members. It is vital and it is fair to say that it has been eroded over time. We need to get back to a place where it is put front and centre. I appreciate the Senator raising this and as she correctly pointed out, the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, and the Minister, Deputy Browne, now have that report. I am not privy to the recommendations, so I cannot go through what is within them in detail. However, they are assessing them at the moment and reading them in detail for publication very shortly, so this is a timely Commencement matter on the Senator's behalf.”
“I thank Senator Fitzpatrick so much for raising this vital issue. In fairness to her, I know the whole concept of the task force and reviewing local government and how local authorities work was something that she called for in the last Seanad. She is following through now and is looking for an update. I completely understand. I fully agree with the strengthening of local government that she called for here today. We need more resources for councillors. As she said, she and I both know that councillors often rely on information that the executives would have full access to, and they are scrambling to get information. Those resources need to be increased. There has to be an acknowledgement, as the Senator said, of the dedicated work that local authority members do and the time and effort they put in.”
“We have a census coming in 2027. We have the research being conducted by An Coimisiún Toghcháin. I fully appreciated and enjoyed the debate in the Seanad today. It was very informative and very educational. I promise this will not sit on a shelf. We will analyse this and consider it carefully. I look forward to the response of the proposer.”
“When the Bill has been passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, under section 10 of the Referendum Act 1994 it must be submitted to the people for approval at a referendum within 30 to 90 days of the passing of the Bill. Subject to a majority of the votes cast at the referendum being in favour of the proposal, the Bill is signed by the President and the Constitution is amended accordingly. Similar to the position with regard to an amendment to Article 16.2.2 of the Constitution, in the event that a referendum in the matter was passed by the people, it would also be necessary to consider whether legislative change would be needed to sections 56 to 59 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 and the procedural approach required in respect of future Dáil constituency reviews. A Chathaoirligh, that sets out the position.”
“As I mentioned earlier, sections 56 to 59 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 repealed and replaced Part II of the Electoral Act 1997 and assigned the review of Dáil and European Parliament constituencies to An Coimisiún Toghcháin. The legislation provides that an coimisiún can commence its work once the preliminary figures from the census are known and it must complete the review within three months of the final census results being published. As Senators are all aware, under Article 46.2 of the Constitution any proposal to amend the Constitution must be introduced in Dáil Eireann as a constitutional amendment Bill and shall contain no proposal other than an amendment to the Constitution.”
“The proposed research from An Coimisiún Toghcháin is to be welcomed and will support evidence-based policy making in this matter that is so important to our democratic institutions and processes. It is vital that the outcome of any work carried out by An Coimisiún Toghcháin in this area is carefully considered. I note that the Central Statistics Office has announced that Ireland's next census will be held on Sunday, 9 May 2027. As has been the case since the enactment of Part II of the Electoral Act 1997, which first introduced independent constituency commissions on a statutory basis, the results of census 2027 will trigger the next review of Dáil and European Parliament constituency boundaries.”
“As at April 2025, the Central Statistics Office estimated Ireland’s population to be some 5,458,600 people. Following its inaugural constituency review, An Coimisiún Toghcháin signalled, in its research programme 2024-2026, which was published on 10 July 2024, that it intended to conduct three pieces of research to inform future constituency reviews. These are: representation and the manner in which the overall number of members is determined in the context of a rising population; constituency magnitude, including exploration of the advantages and disadvantages of permitting constituencies of larger than five seats; and a review of the constituency review methodology with a view to identifying potential future enhancements, including to the consultation process and whether there is scope for the increased use of technology.”
“In undertaking this research, an coimisiún indicated that it would have regard to the following factors: the level of population increase over the last number of years - I note the total population as reported under census 2022 stood at 5.1 million; the increase in the number of Members in the 2023 constituency review from 160 to 174; representation remaining at the higher end of the constitutional range - following the 2023 constituency review each Dáil Member would, on average, represent 29,593 people; the potential future population growth and the potential future increase in the number of Members - Ireland’s population grew by the equivalent of an average of nearly 65,000 per annum between census 2016 and census 2022; and concerns expressed in many submissions, received during the 2023 constituency review, regarding the number of Members and the potential for more.”
“Senators may recall that in its first constituency review report 2023, which was published on 30 August 2023, an coimisiún signalled, inter alia , that it intended to carry out research into the issue of representation and the manner in which the number of Members was determined.”
“The specific terms of reference for Dáil constituency reviews are set out in section 57(2) of the Act, which provides that an coimisiún will have regard to the following: the total number of Members of Dáil Éireann, subject to Article 16.2.2° of the Constitution, shall be not less than 171 and not more than 181; each constituency shall return three, four or five Members; the breaching of county boundaries shall be avoided as far as practicable; each constituency shall be composed of contiguous areas; there shall be regard to geographic considerations, including significant physical features and the extent of and the density of population in each constituency, which I wish was taken into account in west Cork; and subject to section 57, the commission shall endeavour to maintain continuity in relation to the arrangement of constituencies.”
“To specify a set number of Members of Dáil Éireann along the lines of what is proposed in the motion, or to revise the Member-to-population ratio, would require a referendum to amend Article 16.2.2° of the Constitution. Complementary to the provisions of Article 16.2, sections 56 to 59 of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 provides for Dáil and European Parliament constituency reviews to be carried out following each census of population and assigns responsibility to An Coimisiún Toghcháin. In effect, census-driven reviews commence following the publication of preliminary census results by the Central Statistics Office.”
“Article 16.2.3° provides that: The ratio between the number of members to be elected at any time for each constituency and the population of each constituency, as ascertained at the last preceding census, shall, so far as it is practicable, be the same throughout the country. Article 16.2.4° provides that: The Oireachtas shall revise the constituencies at least once in every twelve years, with due regard to changes in distribution of the population ... In effect, these constitutional provisions require that Dáil constituencies be revised whenever population change, as ascertained in a census, leads to population-to-Member ratios in individual constituencies that are significantly out of line with the national average or the limits set in the Constitution of one Member to every 20,000 to 30,000 of population.”
“I very much enjoyed the debate and, now, I am going to go into the current situation. The Constitution sets out clearly and distinctly the overarching requirements that apply to the Membership of Dáil Éireann. In this context, the following constitutional provisions are of particular importance. I refer to Article 16.2.2° of the Constitution, which provides that: The number of members shall from time to time be fixed by law, but the total number of members of Dáil Éireann shall not be fixed at less than one member for each thirty thousand of the population, or at more than one member for each twenty thousand of the population.”
“I think it is a beautiful thing in this country that TDs are both, and Senators as well. You can have an incredibly busy constituency office dealing with day-to-day issues while also having a TD who is up here trying to introduce legislation. That is, however, a lot of hard work, as each and every Senator knows. The citizens versus population argument I do not necessarily buy because while, yes, we have an increase in population, not all are citizens, and in many instances those who are not citizens are the most vulnerable in our society. They need representation and a voice up here. I get that there is debate about that but I think it is a sad state of affairs when that voice is not represented. I want to come back to the point that An Coimisiún Toghcháin is conducting research into this and that should inform our way forward.”
“I am not making the case for an extra TD in Cork South-West, by the way, in case anyone thinks I am. Certainly, when you think of the size of the constituency and you talk about county boundaries, west Cork is kind of considered a county within a county. It is like the 33rd county. From Minane Bridge in the east, it takes about three and a half hours to drive to the Dursey Sound. There is a good representation. There are what I would consider three very good TDs working hard but that is a big geographical area, which is a consideration to take into account as well. In regard to the points made about constituency offices and the work they do, you have got varying opinions on what a TD should be or what they should do. Are they a strict legislator who only focuses on legislation and policy or is there that representational aspect as well?”
“I get the comparison to the UK and the representation there but similarly - I heard the interview and the debate today - you could look at examples like Malta and Luxembourg for alternative representation numbers. However, the key argument coming across from what I am hearing is the need for extra local democracy. If you take the Danish model, for example, they have incredibly strong and robust local democracy, something that we had here with the town councils. I know it is a commitment and was certainly a strong argument in respect of the formation of Government that we would look at bringing back stronger local democracy, not to take away from the incredible work that local authorities do. In regard to curbing the number of TDs, I come at this from a parochial argument, I guess.”
“We will say nothing about that. I am going by the different reviews since the 1980s, and 166 was the number of TDs in the 1980s. If you come to now, it has only jumped by a total of eight. That is in a good number of decades. It is not like we are making these monumental jumps in terms of numbers. It is not getting out of hand as yet but there is a conversation that needs to be had. I completely understand that. In fact, from the 2009 review to the 2013 review, it went down from 166 to 158 and went back up to 160. It is now at 174. That is a significant jump. I take the point but I do not think we are at the point yet where Leinster House is at capacity.”
“I do not think we are anywhere near that at the moment. I do not think there is any fear that, any time soon, we are going to be sitting on one another's laps inside Dáil Éireann. The evidence kind of points-----”
“Senators give each other time for debate. There are very interesting and thought-out contributions. They even give each other time, which is very interesting - Opposition giving Government Senators time. Very enjoyable and thought-provoking points were made, I must say. I find myself flipping over and back on where we should stand on this and what the position is. That is the whole reason we are not opposing this; we need to await the research that is being done by An Coimisiún Toghcháin, which my predecessor, the former Minister of State, Senator Noonan, would have been very much a part of. I take many of the points being made in regard to this concern around an explosion of TDs in Ireland, perhaps, and that with population trends, targets and forecasts, you could see significant increases in TDs.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. First, before I get into the meat of my contribution, I want to outline that the Government will not be opposing the motion here today. I very much enjoyed this debate, to be honest. I find things are very civilised here in the Seanad. Senators give each other-----”
“To recap, the 2b stage includes obtaining all statutory approvals. That includes planning permission. Sometimes it can take time but it needs to happen as quickly as possible. Then there are another few phases to go through, including preparing fully detailed tender documents and an accurate pre-tender cost plan. Those are the elements that can be expedited. I do not see why they should take a long time. Planning permission can be a bit more difficult because of the statutory requirements in terms of time and so on. I appreciate that the Senator raised it again. She has raised it multiple times. The entire Houses and Government buildings are aware of the Senator's dedication to this project. I hope that not far from now we will have a good news story about the commencement of the work.”
“Sometimes planning issues are outside our control, but my understanding is that every effort is being made to ensure all relevant statutory requirements are complied with to ensure the build can commence as soon as possible and I will try to get more information in that regard for the Senator.”
“The 105 prioritised projects will progress to tender and-or construction on a rolling basis over the course of 2026 and 2027 within the context of NDP funding parameters. The timing of project progression will reflect the need to carefully manage the roll-out of these projects to construction on a controlled basis to ensure that projects are delivered efficiently, align with the requirements of the infrastructure guidelines and capital works management framework and remain within the parameters of NDP funding. It is at stage 2b, developed design, at the moment. The Senator asked specific questions about planning.”
“Of the total €7.55 billion investment it is envisaged that approximately €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. The Department will continue to build on the progress made over recent years with the continued roll-out of these projects on a prioritised basis to meet the most urgent needs, with the provision of additional capacity and modernisation of existing facilities. In this regard, the Department has published a list of the 105 school building projects in the first tranche that will proceed to construction or tender in 2026 and 2027.”
“The approved modular accommodation was completed in November 2025. As the Senator will be aware, the Department recently published the €7.55 billion national development plan, NDP, sectoral investment plan for the education and youth sectors for the period 2026 to 2030. This NDP sectoral plan involves a very strong emphasis on maximising existing capacity and prioritising school building projects to meet the most urgent needs. In this regard, there will be a strong special education dimension to project roll-out, which should augur well for St. Francis School.”
“The project is currently at stage 2b - which is developed design - of the architectural design process. This stage includes obtaining all statutory approvals, preparing a set of fully detailed tender documents and preparing an accurate pre-tender cost plan. The stage 2b report was submitted to the Department in March 2026 - this month - and is currently under review from technical and cost perspectives. All projects, including this one, are subject to the full due-diligence requirements set out in the Department’s infrastructure guidelines. Managing timing, scope and cost is crucial to staying within budgetary limits for the overall program. More recently, two SEN classrooms were provided at this school under the Department's devolved SEN repurposing and modular accommodation programme.”