New building for west Mayo secondary school raised in the Dáil

THE need for a new school building for the Sacred Heart School in Westport was raised by Deputy Michael Ring during Topical Issues in the Dáil this week.

The project brief for a new school development is being advanced, he was informed.

In his statement, Deputy Ring said he met with the board of management and principal at the school and was 'appalled' to see the conditions under which teachers, students and board operate. “It is really disgraceful,” he commented.

In February 2022, a new school was announced for the Sacred Heart School, which is under the auspices of CEIST. A year on and the conditions people have to work in are 'unbelievable'.

“More money has been spent on prefabs, extensions and trying to keep the school together than would have built three new schools,” said Deputy Ring.

A response from the Department of Education confirmed that the optimum solution for the school is the provision of a new building on the existing site.

It is proposed that the new school building will provide accommodation for 600 pupils and provision for pupils with special education needs. The accommodation will include state-of-the-art modern facilities, including science laboratories, construction-engineering-technology rooms, home economics rooms, arts and crafts rooms, a multimedia room, a design and communication graphics room, a library, general purpose area and a physical education, PE, hall with associated rooms. This is in addition to the generous suite of accommodation that will be provided to meet the needs of students with special educational needs.

The response continued: “The school site presents certain technical challenges. Nevertheless the project brief for this key new school development is being advanced with a view to progressing the project to the architectural planning stage as soon as possible.

“Once the brief for the new school building is finalised, the department will look to progress this project into the architectural planning process as soon as possible and there will be continued engagement with the school’s patron, CEIST, in this regard.”

Deputy Ring said he welcomed the development that has taken place, but added: “I want to see further action as quickly as possible.

“Again, I compliment the students, principal and teachers given the conditions they are working under. They are doing a fantastic job. I am proud of the school and I will be making sure it is brought to design and brought forward as quickly as possible.”