Children left in limbo as new schools lie idle after collapse of building firm
SIX Irish schools affected by the collapse of a British construction company remain in limbo as to when they can move into their new buildings.
Two of the schools, Loreto, Wexford, and Coláiste Raithín, Bray, Co Wicklow, were due to end years of waiting yesterday and move into their state-ofthe-art new premises.
However, following the collapse of construction giants Carillion, the hand-over dates are now up in the air.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar yesterday pledged that there would be a solution reached, but said: “It is going to take a couple of weeks to sort this out.”
The Dutch partner in the consortium involved in building the schools where work has stopped said a delay in finishing the projects was “inevitable”.
Loreto principal Billy O’Shea told the Irish Independent that he had been given reassurances that negotiations on the issue were going well. He wrote to parents this week stating that he was setting Monday, February 19, as a revised target date for moving to the new school.
He said the school had to have regard to its 240 State exam students who will be sitting their ‘mocks’ over the next fortnight. He said it was “essential that any uncertainty be eliminated” so they could focus properly.
Coláiste Raithín principal Gearóid O’Ciaráin said his building was “ready to go” and he was suggesting that the school be allowed to manage it pending the resolution of the matter.
Also affected are Ravenswell Primary School, which is due to share the Bray campus with Coláiste Raithín; Eureka Secondary School, Kells, Co Meath; and Tyndall College, Carlow; and Carlow College of Further Education.
Concerns arose over the timeline for completion and handover of the buildings when the UK-based construction company Carillion went into liquidation last week.
Carillion and the Dutchbased, DIF Infrastructure (DIF) are partners in InspiredSpaces, the consortium that won the €100m contract for the schools, under public private partnership (PPP) arrangements.
In a statement yesterday, DIF said it was its “top priority” to resolve the situation “as quickly as possible”, but acknowledged that the situation was complex.
The company gave no idea of when it hoped the matter would be resolved.
The consortium is responsible for both the construction of the buildings and their maintenance and the overall cost is paid in stages over 25 years. To date, only €4m has been paid to cover site works.
The controversy took a new twist on Tuesday when about 100 workers were sent home from sites, mainly in Co Carlow.
At least 15 were plasterers and the leader of the plasterers’ union Opatsi, Billy Wall, said they worked for subcontractors of Sammon, the lead contractor for the project.
Mr Wall said he was not clear how much they were owed and said he also felt sorry for the subcontractors who are “bankrolling” these sites and were out of pocket.