Department Admits Twelve Local Schools in ‘‘critical need of repair or urgent attention’
Eight Schools Spending more than €50,000 a year on Prefabs
Local Dublin West TD, Leo Varadkar has revealed Department of Education information which contains the list of all schools in Dublin 15 which require building works.
“The scale of the building problems facing Dublin 15 is chronic. Currently there are 12 separate schools being described by the Department as being in ‘critical need of repair or urgent attention’. In addition, there are three new schools projects in the pipeline, yet only one of these – the Hansfield NS school project is at the advanced Architectural Planning Stage. The other two projects, Tyrellstown Educate Together and Hansfield Community College are still stranded at the pre-architectural planning stage.”
Leo Varadkar continued “while these twelve schools are in urgent need of investment, the Department of Education is pouring hundreds of thousands of Euros each year down the drain by the renting of prefabs. Currently in Dublin 15, there are eight schools which making extensive use of prefabs – in each case at an annual cost of more than €50,000. In three cases, St. Mochta’s NS, St Brigid’s GNS, and Scoil Bhride BNS. This is dead money and could be put to much better use by providing permanent buildings for our children.”
“Nationally, this information shows that almost one-third of all schools (32%) in the country, both primary and post-primary, now have a building application before the Department. In many cases dating back over 10, 15 years.
“For too long the School Building Programme has been used as a stop start pre-election slush fund for Fianna Fáil. The Government needs to urgently do some long term planning for schools in Dublin West and put our children’s education first.