The Department of Education has agreed to purchase sites for three new school buildings in Athenry – catering for around 2,500 students and staff.
Minister Jan O’Sullivan has confirmed that the Department is in the process of acquiring sites for the new Presentation College, Gairmscoil Mhuire and Gaelscoil Riada.
She said securing the sites was a priority for the Department, and once the process has been completed, the projects will then go to the architectural design stage.
Local Fine Gael TD Ciarán Cannon said a planning application for the new vocational school will be lodged with the County Council as soon as the purchase of the site goes through, while all three schools will form part of a six-year building programme to be announced by Minister O’Sullivan.
The Minister said Athenry has been identified as an area of strong population growth, and the sites were narrowed down by the County Council working closely with the Department.
“Athenry has been identified as an area of demographic growth. In that regard, major projects to provide new school buildings for both Gairmscoil Mhuire and the Presentation College that will cater for 1,000 pupils each have been included in the current five-year construction plan.
“In addition, a new twelve classroom school building will be provided for Gaelscoil Riada and a project for this school has also been included in the current five-year construction plan.
“I can confirm that suitable sites have been identified, the acquisition of sites for the schools has been agreed, and the acquisition process is underway.
“Once the conveyancing process has been satisfactorily completed, the projects will be advanced into architectural planning,” said Minister O’Sullivan. She explained that the Council has negotiated with the relevant landowners on the Department’s behalf, and detailed technical examinations have taken place.
Her announcement came in response to a Dáil question from Galway East TD Ciarán Cannon, who said the news will provide certainty about the school-building projects, following some uncertainty.
“A lot of doubt was beginning to creep in as to whether these three schools would ever be developed in Athenry. The process of identifying and acquiring sites for three schools has been fraught with difficulty.
“Finding room for 2,500 students and staff in a town like Athenry isn’t easy. There are limited options available to you within reach of the town centre.
“This is the kind of certainty we needed to hear in Athenry and hopefully the staff and parents of all three schools will take some comfort from this news,” he said.
He added that he is aware that the process of acquiring a site for Gairmscoil Mhuire in particular is very advanced.
“The conveyancing process for the Gairmscoil Mhuire site is almost complete and it is the intention of the Department to lodge a planning application as soon as contracts for the site acquisition are finalised.
“In the case of all three Athenry schools, they will be included in a new six-year school construction plan to be announced by Minister O’Sullivan very shortly,” said Deputy Cannon.
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