Curragh Community School prioritised in €7.55bn national education investment

CURRAGH Community College is one of 12 Kildare schools that has been included on a list of prioritised projects for the 2026-2027 period announced today by the Department of Education.

Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton announced the publication of the National Development Plan (NDP) Sectoral Investment Plan for the Education and Youth sectors today, outlining €7.55 billion in capital funding for schools and youth facilities nationwide between 2026 and 2030.

Among the headline projects in Kildare is a large-scale new school building for Curragh Community College, alongside a new building for St Anne’s Special School in the Curragh.

Kildare features prominently in the Department’s plans, with six major post-primary projects identified under the programme. These include a new school building for Patrician Secondary School in Newbridge, a large-scale extension and refurbishment at Cross and Passion College in Kilcullen, and a new school building for St Mary’s College in Naas. Prosperous will also see a new post-primary school building at St Farnan’s.

The first tranche of the NDP rollout will see 105 school building projects nationally progress to tender and/or construction over the course of 2026 and 2027. In Kildare, a further six schools are included in this tranche, spanning primary and post-primary education.

These projects include additional accommodation extensions at Presentation Girls School in Maynooth and Scoil Mhuire in Naas, a large-scale new school building for Gaelscoil Ruairí in Maynooth, modular extensions at Gaelscoil Uí Fhiaich in Maynooth and Gaelscoil Nás na Ríogh in Naas, and a modular extension at Celbridge Community School.

The Department said the €7.55bn investment builds on significant progress already made and will support the operation of the school system and youth sector with the necessary infrastructure and facilities for the years ahead.