Clifden snubbed as more than 20 Galway schools make building programme

Date Published: 14-Mar-2012

More than 20 schools across Galway City and County are to benefit from the Government’s new €1.5 billion school building programme.

It’s expected that the projects – which range from extensions to entirely new buildings – will create hundreds of jobs for the crippled Galway construction sector.

Galway West Fine Gael TD Brian Walsh said the inclusion of a significant number of local projects in the Government’s five-year school building programme would help meet the anticipated increased demand for school places as the population increases.

But there is growing anger in Clifden where the long-overdue replacement for the old Community School didn’t make the list – despite Education Minister Ruairi Quinn’s self-publicised visit there on Leaving Cert results day last year to promise them he ‘would take a personal interest’ in the project.

The Minister also has a holiday home in the area and now pressure is likely to be ratcheted up on him, both locally and in the Dail.

Overall, more than €1.5 billion will be invested in new schools in the period to 2017 under the programme, and around 18,000 jobs are expected to be created in the process.

In Galway alone, at least 150 jobs are expected to be created by the building works.

It will see the move of Colaiste na Coiribe, which is “bursting at the seams” on the Tuam Road move to a new site in Knocknacarra.

On the eastern side of the city, a new primary school and a new post-primary school for Doughiska have been included in the plan.

Deputy Walsh said that the inclusion of around 25 Galway school-building projects in the Government’s plan would meet the anticipated increase in demand for school places based on population growth, as well as providing a major jobs boost for the area.

“It is expected that the school-going population will increase by up to 70,000 in the next five years, and this building programme will ensure that we are in a position to meet that demand,” he said.

In total, €1.5 billion will be invested in the building programme between now and 2017, while a further €500 million has been earmarked for the replacement of prefabs, the acquisition of sites and the provision of additional classrooms.

See this week’s Connacht Tribune for full story and list of Galway schools approved.