New school in Leitrim is a 'matter of urgency', Seanad hears

A new school building for Scoil Mhuire, Carrick-on-Shannon is "a matter of urgency", Sligo/Leitrim Senator Nessa Cosgrove said when speaking in the Seanad this week. 

She stated: "The application has been in since 2016 and it is the main national school in Carrick-on-Shannon."

She said that with a Gaelscoil "which was afforded €4.5m in Carrick-on-Shannon, there is a danger that because one school is an existing building, Scoil Mhuire is going to be completely run down; one will become an affluent area and one will be cynically run down because of a lack of an appropriate school building. This is a matter of urgency."

She said she knew the department was aware the school building was "sub standard" and said that there were children at the school with "additional learning and language needs" who would "benefit from having smaller classrooms and smaller based environments."

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She noted that Leitrim County Council have identified a suitable greenfield site and what "we need now is your department to confirm what the status of the application is and when it's going to be progressed."

The question was answered on behalf of Minister for Education and Youth, Helen McEntee, TD by John Cummins, Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. 

He stated that the priority of the department is the provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level. 

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He continued that applications from schools for major capital works are considered in the context of capacity requirements and climate action commitments. 

He stated: "The department's approach is to maximise the usage of existing capacity in schools and to manage the progression of the existing pipeline of projects within its allocated capital funding envelope. This is important from a climate agenda and budgetary perspective."

He said the plan for working this through on a national scale will be informed by the outcome of the energy and conditions surveys of all schools which are currently underway and due for completion next year. 

He said this will "help determine priorities going forward in relation to retrofit and refurbishment projects".

He continued that the process is valuable in facilitating "a proportionate assessment of the schools accommodation upgrade needs" and "allow an effective prioritisation of capital investment. The programme for government recognises the importance of strong capital investment in the school building programme and supporting this will enhance the allocations through the National Development Plan (NDP) process."

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Senator Cosgrove responded that "there is no real date or commitment on it yet."

She added: "You mentioned climate action and that is part of the assessment; this is an example of how unfair it is when you have two different campuses, when the school applied for solar panels; they still have two energy costs, two different electricity bills."

Mr Cummins responded that the "department is fully aware of the needs of Scoil Mhuire and the local area and application for a new school building and I can assure you that this application will be reviewed further following the outcome of the NDP allocation process."

He said the department also acknowledges the ongoing discussions "concerning the proposed new school building and the department will continue to engage with the patron, local authority and local representatives as part of the ongoing review of the school requirements for the Carrick-on-Shannon area."