Gaelscoil's 27-year wait for a permanent home drags on

Principal Róise Uí Labhraidh at Gaelscoil Phadraigh in Ballybrack, Co Dublin. The school which opened 27 years ago is still housed entirely in prefabs. Picture: Moya Nolan

A Gaelscoil waiting three decades for a permanent building is among a number of schools impacted by the knock-on effects of building projects delayed by the Department of Education.

Gaelscoil Phádraig, in Ballybrack, Dublin, has been in temporary accommodation for 27 years.

The school opened in a local football club, before renting rooms from a nearby secondary school. It moved to its current, temporary site in 2000.

When asked if it's among the schools waiting the longest in the State for a building, principal Róise Uí Labhraidh told the Irish Examiner: “It must be. No school should be 27 years waiting for a building.

In 2007, the minister for education at the time wrote to the school and all the parents informing us that the department had purchased a vacant school building, which is about 400m from the school.

However, the department later decided to put another school in the building "temporarily", while their own was being built. 

That project has since been besieged by delays and setbacks, meaning the school has remained in situ for the last 16 years.

Almost 60 school-building projects due to go to tender or construction this year are on hold because of funding pressures. 

Discussions are under way between the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) and the Department of Education to secure additional funding to allow the paused projects to proceed. 
Education Minister Norma Foley said, "it’s a question of timing” for when new funding will be released, as she vowed delayed school-building projects would be delivered.

"The Department of Education is absolutely committed to delivering these schools. We’re in discussion with DPER to ensure the capital is released as soon as possible." 

Róise Uí Labhraidh at Gaelscoil Phadraigh in Ballybrack, Co Dublin which is still stuck in prefabs, has no PE hall, and only has a very small yard for 147 students. Picture: Moya Nolan

A full list of the paused projects has not yet been released by the Department of Education. 

Patron bodies, including Educate Together and An Foras Pátrúnachta, have expressed concerns over the delays and their impact on thousands of students. 

Taoiseach Leo Vardkar has attributed the delays down to construction costs, adding that the Government intends to have the issue resolved by Easter. 

However, the delays just mean another setback for Gaelscoil Phádraig, which was hopeful it would have good news to share soon.

Ms Uí Labhraidh said: "Since 2007, consistently we have been told it could be two years before we’d have progress on our building." 

In 2020, the school was told the project would drive on by the end of the year.

"Since then, we contact the Department every few months and we are told next quarter, next quarter,” she said, adding that getting information can be complicated by the fact it's not technically their school building for which she is seeking updates.

I thought that the next news I would soon be announcing to our parents is that we’ve reached the two-year countdown to our new school. It is a huge disappointment.

The Gaelscoil is made up of prefabs, has no PE hall, and only has a very small yard for 147 students. 

It has made expanding difficult. "It’s impossible to plan for, and they have given us no timeframe. It’s not good enough." 

Delays to construction will only lead to costs elsewhere, Ms Uí Labhraidh believes. "What about the cost of the rentals of prefabs?" 

Temporary buildings also cost a fortune to heat, she added.