Wait continues for Killaloe college extension

Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC) is seeking a meeting with the education minister to secure a badly needed extension for St Anne’s Community College in Killaloe.

A two-year campaign by Clare VEC has failed to reap dividends, despite projections that enrolment will jump by 250 over the next five years.
While the Department of Education has agreed to provide a two-classroom addition in the short-term to cope with September’s anticipated intake, an extension of the building is still in abeyance.
No schedule of accommodation has been issued and no inspection to draw up a schedule of residual accommodation has taken place.
Clare VEC members expressed concern at a recent meeting that the band rating of 2.4 assigned by the department is too low and should be 2.1 or higher.
Notwithstanding the argument that a higher band rating should be applied to the project, other projects with the same or lower band ratings have moved forward to architectural planning phase or beyond, chief executive officer George O’Callaghan told the meeting.
The committee raised the question of accommodation needs of St Anne’s in a letter to the department late in 2007. The matter was also the subject of discussion at meetings and in correspondence in 2008, 2009 and 2010.
Accommodation stands at present at 475 pupils, while enrolment is already in excess of that number. It is scheduled to grow rapidly in the short term.
Going on the projected figured, it is estimated that there will be a total enrolment of 750 by 2015, with continuing increases thereafter until up to 800 is reached.
Throughout the period of project discussion, the department has acknowledged the need to provide for a total college population of about 750 pupils, which has not been disputed.
“There is no capacity in the college currently to accommodate this level of increase,” said George O’Callaghan. “The committee had hoped that alerting the department in 2007 to these needs and having submitted an application for major capital works in 2008 and having met officials on a number of occasions since then, that there would be progress on a solution to the college’s accommodation needs.”
He indicated the department’s proposal to provide for accommodation needs on an ad-hoc basis over a prolonged period of three to four years is a matter of serious concern to the committee.
This approach could lead to the college being subjected to building activity for the next seven to eight years at a minimum. Such disruption to college life and activities would be enormous, in his view.
The immediate needs of the college concern general classroom accommodation. It also requires specialist/practical rooms, for example, metalwork or woodwork.
The proposed solution does not envisage the provision of these types of rooms in the short term and Mr O’Callaghan warned this would leave the college at a serious disadvantage.
Given the lack of finance by the department, the committee has currently little option but to proceed piecemeal. Following a meeting with Defence Minister Tony Killeen, a meeting has been sought with the Minister for Education and Skills.
Meanwhile, a summer works project has been agreed by the department and Clare VEC is seeking tenders that have to be in by this Friday. The project covers replacement of selected windows and doors, as well as other incidental refurbishment works.