A significant milestone has been reached in the development of new school buildings as Letters of Intent to successful contractors for Lot 6 of the Department for Education's Design & Build programme were issued.

The programme which comprises of 10 schools includes three campus project across two different bundles. This is one of the largest bundles of new school projects undertaken to date by the Department of Education, comprising some 83,000m2 of new state-of-the-art facilities catering for almost 8,000 students including facilities for special classes.

The Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, said: "It gives me great pleasure to announce the Letters of Intent for these 10 schools which are a key priority for my Department. The delivery of these projects will transform the teaching and learning environment for these school communities. Since 2020, the Department of Education has invested around €4.5 billion in schools throughout the country. Around 800 school building projects have been completed and 300 other projects are under construction. This level of construction rollout recognises the priority that Government puts on investment in education"

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The next significant step will involve issuing Letters of Acceptance to the chosen contractors. This process will take place after additional discussions with the selected contractors regarding their bids for designing and constructing the new schools. These discussions will also clarify the contractors' schedules for project delivery and associated timelines.

These schools are a direct result of last week's announcement regarding an €800 million investment in nearly 90 projects slated for construction throughout 2024 and early 2025. The school buildings are leading developments in their respective regions, aimed at offering new and contemporary facilities to accommodate the expanding populations resulting from extensive housing developments.

The new school buildings will integrate renewable energy systems, such as heat pump technology for heating and solar panels. Furthermore, they will include Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems, demonstrating the Department's continued commitment to climate action initiatives.