Planning decision due this month for new primary school in Offaly

A planning decision is due this month for a new primary school in Offaly.

The Minister for Education, Norma Foley, has confirmed to Independent TD for Laois Offaly, Carol Nolan, that a decision on the planning application currently in place for Gaelscoil na Laochra in Birr will be made by the end of this month.

Deputy Nolan was debating the matter with the Minister during a Priority Oral Questions session in the Dáil last week.

The original lease for the Gaelscoil was for three years from July 2016 until June 2019 but that was then extended to 2021 following the granting of Planning Permission for a temporary change of use to facilitate the school operating from a property owned by Offaly County Council.

Since that date however, Deputy Nolan has continuously engaged with the Department of Education to have the transfer to a new permanent site escalated.

“I have been advocating on this issue since former Education Minister Joe McHugh’s time, so I want to welcome Minister Foley’s confirmation to me today that at long last the planning application process is being expedited and that a decision will be made in the next few weeks. This is vitally important for the school and the entire school community,” said Deputy Nolan.

“I also want to accept that Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board (LOETB) are working diligently to advance the project since progress and responsibility for it was devolved to them.

“I did press the Minister on the need for a definite timeline for when the new premises for the Gaelscoil will become fully operational as it is just not acceptable that the school continues in the kind of information vacuum that can exist on issues like this.

“I will continue to prioritise the delivery of this project for the Gaelscoil’s community by working collaboratively and constructively with the Minister, the Department and indeed the LOETB,” Deputy Nolan concluded.