€20 million new school building goes to tender
PLANS for a new €20m school building for Holy Family Community School in Rathcoole will go to tender this week.
As reported in The Echo last May, the Department of Education and Skills received planning permission for the new school building in 2016.
However, according to a post on the school’s website by principal Brenda Kelly – which was published in January 2020 – they had encountered “significant delays” in progressing the project.
Last year, the Department secured planning permission for an extension to the duration of the original planning permission for the new school development.
The news that the new school building will be going out to tender this week has been welcomed by local Fine Gael TD Emer Higgins.
Deputy Higgins said: “I am very pleased that the Department of Education has announced that Holy Family Community School’s building project will go to tender this week, progressing the development of the long-awaited new school building in Rathcoole.
“Stage three tender will take between six to eight months to complete, at which point, a contractor will be appointed to further progress the development.
“This is a €20M plus project and will be a huge asset to the school community but I know that progress has been frustratingly slow and I have been engaging with parents and staff and continuing to push for progress on this project so I am delighted to see some positive news finally coming from the Department on this.
“I know how desperately the school needs this building. Back in 2019 I invited the then Minister for Education, Joe Mc Hugh to visit the school and I promised to keep the pressure on to get a new school delivered for the young people of Rathcoole, Saggart, Newcastle and Brittas.
“I will continue to liaise with the Department to ensure things progress as quickly as possible. Rathcoole is a growing community and it’s important that our school capacity continues to grow in line with our community.”
At the time of their application for the extension of the duration of planning permission, the Department it was stated that funding “was not available for this project” during the lifespan of the initial grant of permission.
They added in their application that the project is due to go to tender in Q2/Q3 of this year, and that there is a two-year programme for construction.
