BRAY SCHOOLS IN LIMBO AS ST BRIGID’S IN GREYSTONES BUYS CONVENT LAND
ON MONDAY, the day he was supposed to get keys to a new school building, principal of Coláiste Ráithín Gearóid Ó Ciaráin said that he is hopeful that delays in moving into the new school can be resolved.
Meanwhile, Emer Breen, the Principal of Ravenswell National School, said that while the situation is disappointing, she thinks the move will happen quite soon.
It emerged last week that Carillion, one of the companies responsible for building Coláiste Ráithín and Ravenswell National School, had gone into liquidation.
Yesterday (Tuesday), some machines were being packed up and moved off the site.
The new premises for the second-level Irish speaking school and Ravenswell primary school are located on the old Golf Club Lands. Work on the buildings is believed to be all-but-complete at this stage.
The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), working on behalf of the Department of Education, has engaged with Mr Ó Ciaráin as recently as last Thursday, but they have not provided any more information yet.
‘ They really didn’t go beyond what they already said in their statement,’ said the principal. ‘ They are saying they are confident that the situation can be rectified.’
Mr Ó Ciaráin said that he is keeping a close eye on the other school projects affected, particularly Loreto College in Wexford which was also due to open on Monday of this week.
‘We are hopeful that the situation can be gotten around,’ said Mr O’Ciaráin. ‘We understand that there may be legal difficul-
ties. These can be resolved with goodwill all-round and with the appropriate intervention from the Department of Education and the NDFA.’
Ms Breen at Ravenswell is optimistic.
‘It’s a blip,’ she said. ‘It’s out of my control. I know that there are people working in the background. It is a state project and they are looking after it. The school is looking lovely and it really is a school to be proud of.’
She said that the children have been shown pictures of their new school and told they are very close and not to worry.
Minister for Education Richard Bruton said last week that he is confident the NDFA will be in a position to resolve any uncertainty over the schools but said he can’t give any categorical statement until the process is complete.
Work started on the builds in July 2016. In the case of Coláiste Ráithín, the parents association has been campaigning for a new school since 1994.
The NDFA is liaising with another body involved in the deal, DIF-Dutch Infrastructure Fund, to establish next steps.
In a statement, the Department of Education said that the only payment made to the InspiredSpaces consortium so far is €4.4 million for off-site works which have been completed.
They said that no unitary charge payments will be made until the schools are fully completed.