Crèche opens up again after fire damage to community centre

The crèche located at Killinarden Community Centre reopened this week after a fire in March halted operations.

A temporary home was recently sought for the Busy Beehive crèche in Killinarden after a fire took away their permanent lodgings at the local community centre.

Works remain ongoing to repair the damage done to Killinarden Community Centre and the council noted that the childcare facility on site was set to reopen on Tuesday, May 5.

The council noted that the remedial works had a clear focus on prioritising the reopening of the crèche ahead of other areas within the building.

Councillor Paddy Holohan outlined the effect the fire has had on people in the community, who are unable to avail of the early years childcare that was offered to them by the business.

Cllr Holohan said: “The effect that this has on people is so big in our community because these services are undervalued.

“They allow people to go to work and the working people to be able to get back and use it like a childcare, but also kids get to play with other kids and learn that social aspect of it.”

Cllr Louise Dunne said that when her children were young, she depended on a breakfast club or an after-school for her to be able to work the hours that she had been working.

Assessments had been completed prior to the start of works to determine the extent of the damage and repairs necessary, but no reopening date has been provided by the council as of yet.

South Dublin County Council deemed it “highly unusual” to identify and access an alternative unit that would be immediately suitable for a childcare facility to use on a temporary basis, due to “complex regulatory requirements.”

SDCC Community Department’s Joe Lumumba noted that attempts were made to rehome the service, but these were “unsuccessful.”

Mr Lumumba also stated that a feasibility study will be carried out on the provision of childcare services across the county.

The local authority had previously stated that the centre is unlikely to reopen until the remedial works are completed and all safety sign-offs are in place, due to the scale of the works.

“The people that have reached out to me, they’re worried about a date, a time, they’ve no real kind of closure on when this is going to be resolved

“I suggest that we look at this as a situation where we take it as a warning for other after-school facilities that we have.”

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.