TD for Dublin Mid-West Mark Ward has written to the Minister for Education Norma Foley TD and asked that she immediately intervene and provide accommodation for Griffeen Community College, Lucan. Griffeen Community College, Lucan has been without a permanent home since it opened in 2017 and was promised a permanent school building by 2019.
Deputy Ward said: “I have had numerous parents contact me with concerns about their children attending Griffeen Community College, Lucan recently. They are left up in the air on whether their children will have a school to go to in two weeks’ time” “I have written with urgency to the Minister for Education Norma Foley to express my concerns about the accommodation issues facing Griffeen Community College, Lucan. I have asked that she listen to the concerns of the parents at this school and work swiftly to provide clarity to the parents and students on when appropriate accommodation will be available to them. “
“The school was first opened in 2017. A permanent building to house 1,000 students was promised by 2019. However, this was delayed due to planning and zoning issues. A decision that the students would be provided with temporary accommodation on an adjacent site was quashed by your Department due to its expense.” “It was then proposed that the Dublin and Dun Laoghaire ETB would provide alternative accommodation while the permanent building was being revised, which would have involved bussing students from Lucan to Tallaght for 2 years. This was understandably rejected by the parents and taken off the table as an option. “
“The newest approach was to build temporary accommodation on the current site of Kishoge Community College, and this was to be delivered this September. However, the school year starts in just 2 weeks’ time, and the parents and students have still not been given a confirmed date for completion of the temporary accommodation. The parents and students of Griffeen Community College are understandably concerned about this and are urgently seeking clarity on when the temporary and/or permanent accommodation will be finished.” “Covid has meant that this is a very testing time for parents and students returning to school but having the added burden of not knowing if the parents and students of Griffeen Community College, Lucan will have suitable accommodation is unacceptable”
