Kildare primary school closes temporarily over fire and structural safety concerns

In a letter to parents today, the school’s board of management said reviews had identified several issues. FIle picture

A primary school in Celbridge, Co Kildare, has closed amid safety concerns over its prefabricated buildings.

St Patrick's Primary School sent classes home last month after concerns emerged about the condition of the 19-year-old prefabs.

In a letter to parents today, the school’s board of management said reviews had identified several issues.

"Following a series of recent external fire safety and building compliance reviews, the Board of Management has taken the decision to temporarily close the school building with effect from (tomorrow).

"This decision has been made in the interests of the safety, health and welfare of our pupils and staff. Independent assessments identified a number of fire safety and building compliance matters which require urgent attention. 

"While there has been no specific incident giving rise to this decision, the Board considers it both prudent and responsible to pause occupation of the building in order to implement priority works and ensure full statutory compliance."

The board said the closure will allow for:

• Immediate implementation of priority fire safety measures 
• Further verification of structural and building compliance matters 
• Engagement with the relevant statutory authorities to confirm a clear compliance pathway
• Coordination of necessary remedial works

"The Board wishes to emphasise that this decision has been taken proactively. Acting at this stage allows required works to proceed in a controlled and structured manner, rather than responding reactively at a later point.

"We recognise that this temporary closure will cause disruption to families, and we sincerely regret the inconvenience. The safety of our school community must, however, remain the overriding consideration."

The letter added that the board is working closely with the department of education and others to "progress urgent remedial actions, determine a timeline for safe reoccupation and explore temporary accommodation solutions where feasible".

A consultant's report last year found the building “is not fit for purpose to operate without considerable risk” and “is unsafe and poses a serious immediate threat to the well-being, health and safety of the occupants and users.” 

The review recommended that a "full review of the overall system including emergency and escape lighting, must be carried out by a specialist Fire Protection Systems specialist, and upgrade to current standards and regulations as required".

It also said all original emergency and escape lighting should be replaced with modern compliant fittings.

The report stated that the floor plate is “rotting and failing in multiple locations" and that floor collapses have already occurred.

Speaking in the Dáil last month, junior minister Niall Collins told local TDs that Education Minister Hildegarde Naughton visited the school in January. He added that she was given a tour of the building before meeting local school leaders and the board of management.

"During this visit, she was advised by the school that a number of classrooms had been closed and that the building had structural defects. St. Patrick's Primary School has submitted a number of applications for funding under the emergency works scheme for life safety equipment, fabric defects and roof works. 

"The emergency works scheme operates on the basis of a minimal scope of works required to remedy an emergency situation. On this basis, the school was advised to submit a revised scope of works with an accompanying itemised cost breakdown."

Mr Collins said that in January, the Department "engaged project engineers and contractors to address the immediate issues".

He added that a new school building for St Patrick's Primary School forms part of a campus project that "has been devolved for delivery under the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, as part of a bundled school building programme".

"The project is currently at detailed design stage of the architectural process, which involves developing the designs, fully costed planning, the campus project and preparing the necessary documentation to facilitate the application for statutory approval to the local authority."

In a statement, the Department of Education said that it would meet with the school's management on Thursday.

The department said it has received "a number of emergency works applications from the school, including in June and November of 2025", and that revised applications for emergency works funding were not received after additional information was sought.

It added that emergency works had been done after the classroom closures and that "considerable works have been carried out to the school, including clearance and remediation of gutters and drainage which were severely blocked in the school, maintenance to fire doors, replacement of sections of vinyl flooring and some discrete electrical remediation".

"The school has been provided with written programme updates, including delivery timelines for specific works.

"Works will continue in the days and weeks ahead, including during the mid-term and Easter break.

The Department is satisfied that the methodology provided to the school addresses all the issues which have been raised by the school including issues raised with regards to life safety systems and fire safety measures," it said.