Green light for new national school

FULL planning permission was granted this week by Ennis Town Council for the relocation of Ennis National School to Ashline on the Kilrush Road in the county town.

The decision was issued within six and a half weeks of submission as a result of the previous application made by the Killaloe Diocesan Trust and Ennis Parish, in conjunction with the present and previous boards of managements.
The most recent permission provides for an alteration to the original footprint, an increased floor area and an enlarged hall and changing rooms to facilitate community use. The previous planning application teased out all the technical details with regard to layout, parking, habitat, archaeology and ground water.
A spokesman for the school’s board of management explained the expertise of Tony Sheppard, project architect with the Department of Education, Science and Skills, and his team has resulted in a design for a 32-classroom school, which will act as a template for similar-sized schools around the country into the future.
School principal, Ray McInerney has welcomed the decision and acknowledged all those who have been involved in the project over the last 11 years. In particular, he paid tribute to the foresight of and decisions taken by current and previous boards of management, which resulted in the positive and speedy decision by Ennis Town Council.
“The grant of planning permission this week by Ennis Town Council is the beginning of the end of a long road for Ennis National School, which saw school staff and parents alike campaigning for a new school since the mid 1990s,” he commented.
The next stage of the project is to lodge the fire certification and disability certification applications. The school, in conjunction with the design team and the department, is working towards tender in the first quarter of 2011 with a realistic expectation of commencement of building in the second quarter of 2011.
Mr McInerney explained that planning permission was granted for the new school previously but when the new architects (Department of Education) came on board, the plan was altered slightly to include a full-sized sports hall, adjoining changing rooms and a playing field for community use. This new planning permission was then submitted to Ennis Town Council and the new school got the final go-ahead this Tuesday.
He said it is expected that the construction phase for the new school will take 15 months.
“If this timeline holds, the school will be completed for September 2012. That is our working date and all going well, that will work out,” he added.
Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey said the positive decision on planning is welcome news for parents, children and staff.
“The school has been waiting for many years for progress on a new school befitting the current number of staff and students. One third of students are schooled in pre-fabricated buildings and this situation has been in existence for far too long,” he said. He has called on funding to be secure, regardless of the economic situation this year or next.
He commented, “We must now ensure that funding for this project is ring fenced and committed to, regardless of what happens in the upcoming budget. The current economic climate is no excuse for educating pupils in what amounts to developing world conditions. When I invited former Fine Gael spokesperson on education, Brian Hayes, to visit the school last year, he called it ‘the worst example of prefab accommodation in the State’.
“Today is a day of hope though for the pupils and staff and we can look forward with renewed optimism that this whole saga will finally be dealt with in the next six months. The population in Ennis has been growing and while the Government allowed thousands of houses to be built in County Clare, it has taken years for this school to get progress.
“I am hopeful the granting of planning permission will mean a new start for the pupils, staff and parents of Ennis National School.”
Mr McInerney said the Department of Education has indicated to the school’s board of management that the building project will go ahead in 2011.
“The Department of Education has clearly indicated that Ennis National School is a priority project from their capital building project for this year. Based on that, we have already initiated fundraising for the school.
“The board of management has undertaken to provide the full-size sports hall, changing room and playing field from its own resources. Through our fundraising project, we have a target of €375,000. The Department of Education will fund substantially the cost of the school,” he explained.