The Department of Education says 58 school projects temporarily paused recently can now progress to tender and construction stage and Department officials will contact those schools directly. Newport College in Tipperary is one of the projects involved and the temporary pause with the project over the past number of weeks caused huge concern locally. The school is overcrowded at present and the Department had suggested that the school convert the canteen into classrooms for the coming academic year. The school is to now get five new classrooms in the current project with the hope that the temporary accommodation will be ready for September.
Minister for Education, Norma Foley says the Department of Education will update each of the 58 schools in relation to the formal arrangements and next steps in respect of the delivery of their individual projects.
The Department of Education completed over 180 projects last year and this year alone, over 300 school building projects are currently under construction, including 40 new school buildings and 260 projects at existing schools. There are also over 1,000 other school building projects in the Department’s pipeline at various stages of development. The Department says it has also managed to support schools with the successful integration of over 15,000 Ukrainian students within the school system.
