Two schools due to reopen on Thursday after remedial work
Two schools which have been closed for the past fortnight due to serious concerns over their structural safety will not reopen until Thursday amid fears they still pose a risk to more than 1,200 children.
Education Minister Joe McHugh confirmed the latest delay last night as he admitted the State will have to pick up the bill for urgent repair works on 23 buildings affected by the crisis before any legal action is taken.
Before an emergency meeting of the Oireachtas education committee yesterday afternoon on the reasons behind what happened, Mr McHugh said while it had been hoped that all affected schools would reopen by yesterday, this was not possible.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Drivetime programme, the Education Minister said Tyrrelstown Educate Together and the nearby St Luke’s National School will reopen on Thursday, while Ardgillan has been closed for similar reasons.
At the centre of all deliberations is safety,” said Mr McHugh. “Safety of staff and pupils, and the need to ensure continuity of education. The viewpoint yesterday was that they wanted a little more time. It’s just in the logistics, ensuring transfer of students and staff.
The decision to keep the two west Dublin schools, which cater for 1,200 pupils, closed until Thursday came after a three-hour meeting between the schools’ representatives and Department of Education officials.
During the meeting, school representatives made it clear they do not feel the repair works have addressed all concerns at the facilities, and that further work would be needed.
The reopening delay has added further problems to the Department of Education, with both facilities being closed since October 24 and 19 other schools built by the same company, Western Building Systems, undergoing urgent reviews over the mid-term break.
Asked yesterday who will pay for the extensive repair work, Mr McHugh said the department is still examining extending its legal action cases against Western Building Systems.
However, he admitted that while “there’s no holding back” and he will be “pushing very hard” for compensation, at this stage, the State will be left to pick up the bill, which in one previously at-risk facility, Rush and Lusk Educate Together, both Co Dublin, is close to €1m.
The issues are set to be raised at an Oireachtas Education Committee meeting this afternoon in which Mr McHugh will be questioned over when the Government was first informed of the scale of the crisis and what consequences will emerge.
