Long wait over for Ennis National School

ENNIS National School has been given the Christmas present it has been hoping for with the announcement that the long-awaited new school is to go to construction phase next year.

On Monday, Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn announced that Ennis National School will be among 56 projects approved for 2012, as part of a €430 million infrastructure programme.
This follows over a decade of campaigning for new facilities for the almost 700 pupils of the school. The board of management is now optimistic that work on the new school at Ashline, can begin in March, with construction expected to take 18 months. The new 32-classroom school will be built on lands donated by the Diocese of Killaloe.
Principal of Ennis National School, Ray McInerney described the announcement as “good news for Ennis”.
“This has been met with delight from the pupils, staff, teachers and board of management, who have been waiting for this news. There are other primary schools in Ennis waiting for building projects and this confirms that there is light and hope at the end of the tunnel. This at last confirms that the funding is in place and the project will go to construction in 2012.
“This news has been met with relief. We expected to be on the list this year but with the cutbacks, there were concerns that some schools ready to go to tender would not be on the list. I have a lot of empathy for other schools that were expecting similar news but who didn’t get it,” he said.
David Casey, chairman of the board of management, added, “It has been a long slog and there have been set-backs but now it looks like it’s all systems go. We are hoping that work can begin in March and construction should take 18 months.”
The announcement was widely welcomed in Ennis with Councillor Pat Daly, a former chairman on the board of management at the school, adding, “This has been a long time waiting. This is the start to a great future for Ennis National School.”