Yesterday the Minister for Education and Youth listed 105 priority new school building and extension projects to proceed to tender and construction in 2026 and 2027 as part of the national development plan, NDP. While that is welcome for those communities, there were no objective criteria set out and no explanation as to why particular projects were selected for prioritisation over others. There was very significant geographic variation and some projects that were at a more advanced stage of planning were not listed for priority while less-advanced projects were. There was no indication as to what this means for those projects that were not listed. There is real concern in relation to that, as well as huge frustration in school communities across the State. Children are in school buildings that are wholly inadequate. I can list a number of such schools in my own constituency and there are many more across the State. What does this mean for those other projects that are already years in planning? Does it mean that they are going to be delayed by a further two years?

Sentiment score: -0.04