‘It’s just not good enough’ – school left waiting in prefabs for 27 years despite promises of permanent building

A Dublin primary school has been using prefab classrooms for 27 years as it continues to wait on a permanent building.

Gaelscoil Pádraig, in Ballybrack, has been in prefabricated buildings from day one, and principal, Róise Uí Labhraidh, said it’s been difficult to run the school.

“Past pupils have all gone through the school in the temporary accommodation, and now their children are in the school in temporary accommodation,” she said.

“We’ve been waiting 27 years and no school in Ireland should be waiting that long for a permanent building, it’s not good enough. We should be celebrating our 30 years in a permanent home.

“The problem is the overall facilities. We’ve no school hall, we’ve nowhere to gather for assemblies or concerts and for PE and sports.

“There’s no problem when the weather is good, we can do PE outside. But when it’s not good, we’ve to cancel PE or extracurricular sports activities.

“We’ve put a huge emphasis on physical health, that’s the frustrating part. We’ve a small play area, but it’s too small to accommodate all the children. It’s hard work keeping the building warm and it’s expensive too,” she added.

Mrs Uí Labhraidh is disappointed as the school, which was founded in 1995, was promised a building back in 2007 by the Department of Education. ​

“We’re stuck behind another school building project. Back in 2007, the then Minister for Education wrote to us saying the department purchased a local, vacant school building which would be our permanent home,” she said.

“The department put another school in there temporarily while their building was being built on the Stillorgan Road. We’ve now been stuck behind this building project for 16 years.

“Prefabs are not designed to be permanent buildings. It’s impossible to plan. Everything lasts a few years and that has been constant since 2007. We’ve been repeatedly given a time of two years for construction.

“In the last few weeks, I was under the impression that construction was imminent, and I was waiting to get a call to say it was finally sorted.”

However, that call never came, and the school is facing further delays before construction on the new school gets the green light.

An Foras Pátrúnachta, the largest patron body of Gaelscoileanna, held talks with the Department of Education on March 7, in which they were informed that 58 school building projects would be postponed due to financial pressures, including five under An Foras Pátrúnachta.

Proposals for permanent buildings whose construction was due to begin soon have now officially been delayed.

An Foras Pátrúnachta expressed its disappointment and concerns for Gaelscoil Pádraig, saying: “This school has been neglected.

“The State must ensure that this neglect does not continue.”

Other projects in Foras schools that have been postponed are: Gaelscoil an Inbhir Mhóir (Arklow); Gaelscoil na gCeithre Máistrí (Donegal Town); Gaelscoil Lir (Saggart); and Gaelscoil Eois (Clones).

General secretary of An Foras Pátrúnachta, Caoimhín Ó hEaghra, said: “We are really disappointed by these delays. This is an exceptional circumstance for schools to find themselves in.” ​

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Independent.ie has contacted the Department of Education for comment.