Education Minister urged to secure funding to allow O'Carolan College proceed

Chairperson of the Board of Management of O'Carolan College, Cllr Paul McCabe, said he is "deeply concerned" at the prospect of the school building project being delayed and said he has written to the Minister for Education asking for funding to be secured to allow the project proceed as a matter of urgency.

Cllr McCabe said: "I have written to the Minister for Education seeking that funding would be secured to allow the project to proceed to construction, as a matter of urgency.

"This project cannot wait any longer as planning permission expires in January 2024. There have already been too many delays and false dawns.

"The school community need certainty and a firm reassurance from Government that resources are available to build this much needed school building.

"I am also in regular contact with the Principal and the Chief Executive of LMETB."

The school community of O'Carolan College, Nobber, was said to be "shell-shocked" as the new school building project was included in a list of 58 schools nationwide that were stalled due to capital funding pressures.

The project was ready to proceed to construction and LMETB was waiting for the final green light with the hope that builders would be on site in May.

With the timeline already tight, the school says it cannot afford to wait until Easter for a review of projects to take place and that this project must be prioritised because of the planning permission deadline.

Yesterday school principal Brian Goggins said the school was "shell-shocked" at the news and said they don't have the luxury of waiting six weeks for a review. He said that an exception must be made for schools where planning permission deadlines have to be met.

In a general statement on the stalled projects, a Department of Education spokesperson said: "As part of its planning ahead for 2023, the Department is assessing its work programme and priorities in the context of its available funding.

"It is also engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform in relation to capital funding pressures in order to continue to be able to adequately support the operation of the school system with rollout of school building projects to tender and construction in 2023 and minimise project delays to the greatest extent possible.

There are currently 58 school building projects that are on hold in the Department for proceeding to tender and construction due to capital funding pressures.

"The Department of Education is very conscious of the need to support the operation of the school system and intends to provide clarity for individual schools about their school building projects as quickly as possible."

When contacted about the situation at O'Carolan College, Nobber, and whether it would be prioritised due to the planning permission issue, the spokesperson said "The Deparment was not in a position to comment on individual schools".