Mick Clifford: A half-built school lying idle is a lesson in the State's inability to get things done

The building of a Gaelscoil in Dublin's north inner city has come to a halt. It is the latest in a series of State infrastructure failures, writes Mick Clifford

Work on the site of Coláiste Mhuire school on Dominick Street in Dublin has been paused since May. Pictures: Moya Nolan

A large construction site in Dublin’s inner city is lying dormant. The cranes are still, hulking and silent. It’s as if the place was suddenly abandoned on foot of some natural disaster, or even a spontaneous walk-off by workers in protest at deficiencies in safety.

In reality, it’s nothing like that. Instead, the idle site of a half-built school at a time when all manner of infrastructure and housing is desperately needed, is attributable to a kind of stasis that is increasingly a feature of State-related projects. The task of actually getting things done efficiently and expeditiously has never been as frustrating.