TD supports 'ramp up' of campaign for new primary school in Ballinasloe

Sinn Féin TD for Roscommon-Galway Claire Kerrane has this week moved to "ramp up" the campaign for a new school building for Scoil an Chroí Naofa in Ballinasloe, which has been waiting for almost three decades for a new school building.

Over 300 children attend the school in the east Galway town, while there is also a growing waiting list, which Deputy Kerrane said earlier this year "cannot be touched without additional capacity being made available". Scoil an Chroí Naofa was created in 1996, as an amalgamation of St Grellan's and Girls School, with an understanding from the Department of Education that there would be a new school build.

In a social media post this week, Deputy Kerrane said: "Almost three decades later and Scoil an Chroí Naofa are still waiting for their new school. I met with the principal and Board of Management today on next steps to ramp up the campaign. They have waited far too long and we need the green light from Government to proceed."

Plans for a new 16-classroom primary school with additional classrooms for pupils with special educational needs for Scoil Chroí Naofa are included in the Department of Education's construction programme and are currently at the detailed design stage.

In a statement to the Westmeath Independent, Deputy Kerrane said: "Scoil an Chroí Naofa has waited almost three decades for their new school. During that time, generations have come and gone through the school.

She said the Stage 2b process, which covers the detailed design phase, submitted to the Department of Education in March of this year, has not progressed.

"We are looking at ways we can raise the profile of the case of the school. The campaign will ramp up now to be led by the school itself, children and parents.

"For me, I will continue to raise the need for this new school to be delivered. They have waited too long."

Deputy Kerrane raised the issue in the Dáil in May of this year, when she said there had been false dawn after false dawn for this project.

"The school is located across two buildings on opposite sides of a very busy road. It is on Society Street with traffic coming in and out of Ballinasloe and is one of the main entrances and exits out of the county town. This is really dangerous. Frankly, it is incredible in this day and age that one school is spread across two locations across the road from each other on a very busy road," Deputy Kerrane told the Dáil.

"One building dates back to the 1930s while the second was built in the 1970s. It is a single block with no insulation and single-pane windows. Due to the school being in limbo for the past 20 plus years, it has limited itself in carrying out remedial works because the understanding was that the new school was coming."

Deputy Kerrane said she had met with the school principal earlier this year when the stage 2(b) submission, which covers detailed design and generally takes about 12 months, was being prepared. This was then submitted in March.

"The latest update I have from the Department is that it is being reviewed," Deputy Kerrane told the Dáil. "The school needs to know when this is happening and have some kind of timeline so it knows this new build is coming. It has gone on for far too long."

Responding on behalf of the Government, Minister of State Colm Brophy said the project is included in the Department's construction programme and will be delivered as part of the Project Ireland 2040 framework.

"The major building project for the school referred to by the Deputy is currently at an advanced stage of architectural planning - stage 2(b) detailed design - where the design team has secured all statutory applications and is preparing the suite of tender documents," he said.

Minister Brophy added that the submission was being reviewed by a multidisciplinary team at the Department and once stage 2(b) design was complete, a meeting of all stakeholders would be organised.

Thanking the Minister for the update, Deputy Kerrane said it was important it was moved along as quickly as possible, saying the entire school community has waited long enough. She pointed out the school had gone through five principals while waiting for the new build, while this was the third Stage 2b submission to be made to the Department.

Minister Brophy said he would bring this to the Education Minister on Deputy Kerrane's behalf, adding: "I know there were delays with this relating to a change to increase the number of classrooms, as well as proposals by the local authority to alter the road layout and access. This necessitated a new planning application, as I am sure the Deputy is well aware. The final grant of that planning permission for the project, as currently designed, was received from the local authority in September 2023."