Clarity sought on timeline for new further education and training centre in Leitrim
Cllr Maeve Reynolds requested that Leitrim County Council write to MSLETB and the Minister for Further and Higher Education to seek a full update on the proposed Mohill ETB.
Planning permission was granted on October 29 for the development of a new Centre for Further Education and Training in Mohill.
The project will see the partial demolition, renovation, and extension (282m²) of the old vocational school in Mohill to create the new Mohill Centre for Further Education and Training (FET).
Plans for the Mohill FET have been in progress for several years, with funding for the redevelopment of the old school in Coolabaun announced in October 2022.
At November’s meeting of Leitrim County Council, Cllr Maeve Reynolds requested that the Council write to the Mayo Sligo Leitrim Educational Training Board (MSLETB) and the Minister for Further and Higher Education to seek a full update on the proposed Mohill ETB. The centre had initially been proposed for Youthreach, but Cllr Reynolds noted that Youthreach has since moved out of Mohill.
“It’s been over two years now since €1.5 million funding was announced for the redevelopment of the old vocational school in Mohill into a new further education and training centre,” Cllr Reynolds said.
She welcomed the granting of planning permission but stressed the importance of receiving an official update on timelines for when the centre will become operational in Mohill.
Once completed, the new facility will form part of the fully integrated Leitrim College FET Campus network and will support the continued growth of education and training in Leitrim.
Cllr Cormac Flynn commented that while the MSLETB is very proactive, he criticised the Department of Education, saying they have “overpromised and underdelivered,” and that they “need to be called out on it.”
“There’s hundreds of projects up and down the country that are being announced five or six times before they build them,” he added.
Cllr Reynolds’ motion received unanimous support from elected members.