Inishowen school projects ‘not paused’ despite national spending review

Three major school building projects in Inishowen do not appear to be impacted by a review of school construction projects nationally due to rising construction costs.

The construction of a new school extension for Moville Community College and the progress of the three-school campus in Buncrana appear to be unaffected by the review of spending on 58 school construction projects around the country.

A new building for Scoil Íosagáin in Buncrana, which has been granted planning permission, is also not on the list of projects impacted by the review.

There are, however, concerns that the review could yet impact the Inishowen projects.

The Donegal Education and Training Board (ETB), which runs Moville Community College and Crana College and Coláiste Chineál Eoghain, which along with Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha form the three-school campus, said it had not received any notification from the Department of Education that any of its school building projects have been paused. 

Principal of Moville Community College Anthony Duggan said he has not been told that the project has been paused due to the review, which is impacting 58 building projects nationwide.

.

Work on the extension was to begin in January but there has been a delay after the Department of Education sought clarification on technical aspects of the construction.

Suspended prison sentence for Donegal footballer who ripped opponent's scrotum

The victim told Letterkenny District Court how he considered retiring from playing after suffering a seven-centimetre laceration to his scrotum and required eight stitches

Approval was given last autumn for the extension, which will include special education classrooms. The extension is due to be started with the school’s enrolment set to increase from 581 students to 635 due to natural demographics in the area.

Mr Doogan said the Donegal ETB has not been told that any of its projects are to be paused, while other ETBs have.

“We are not officially being paused, but everything in the country is being paused due to this financial review by the department. We have had no indication that the review is pertaining to us.”

He said the review of the technical aspects had caused “an unfortunate delay,” but added that “no news is good news”.

“We would hope that we are too far advanced and we would hope that after 22 years that this project will finally come to completion.

 The Department of Education said it is assessing its work programme and 58 projects are on hold “due to capital funding pressures”.  

“The Department of Education is very conscious of the need to support the operation of the school system and intends to provide clarity for individual schools about their school building projects as quickly as possible,” the department said.

Donegal TD Pádraig MacLochlainn said he did have concerns that the extension at Moville Community College, as well as the new school project for Scoil Íosagáin in Buncrana, could be impacted by the spending review.

The Sinn Féin TD said that while Moville Community College is not on the list of schools that are being reviewed, he would “have a concern, unless I hear otherwise, that it might be included in that tranche of projects that are awaiting sign-off and I would have a concern that Moville would be delayed due to this review”.

“Moville Community College has been waiting an inordinate length of time to get that work done. This is the problem with a lot of these projects - they take years to come to fruition and that is why it is so concerning and exasperating, that it is at the last minute that we hear that there’s a review due to inflation. At the end of the day, these schools have to get done and it is unfortunate.

“I don’t want to cause alarm but I am worried about this development and obviously Scoil Íosagáin and Moville Community College are both ready to go - we just need to get tenders signed off on and I would be worried that both projects could be impacted by this review and they cannot be delayed - these are critically important projects, both of them, and there can be no delays.”