New 1,000-pupil school with SEN classrooms gets go-ahead

EXCITEMENT is in no short supply at Tallaght Community School this week with the announcement that a project to provide a new 1,000-pupil school building and Special Educational Needs classrooms has been approved.

The lower estimate of the cost of the project is expected to be in the region of €23 million, The Echo understands.

During a visit from Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, to the school last Thursday, the minister handed over a letter from the Department of Education which contained the welcome news.

Having applied to the Department’s Additional School Accommodation scheme, Tallaght Community School (TCS) will receive a four-classroom Special Educational Needs (SEN) base within the 1,000-pupil school.

Twenty-seven general 30-student classrooms, 10 general 20-student classrooms, five specialist classrooms, six science laboratories, a library, a physical education hall facility, the SEN base and more are incorporated into the plans.

“This announcement is a big announcement for the school, the teachers, the principal, the students, the parents, and it’s not only a big boost for the school, but this is also a big boost for the community of Tallaght,” Cllr Mick Duff, who is also chairman of the TCS board of management, told The Echo.

“Minister Norma Foley coming to the school on a private visit is much appreciated.

“She came out to the school and witnessed the condition with her own eyes and when she handed over the letter with the announcement to the principal, Aidan Lynch . . . it was a moment I will never forget.

“I would describe it as emotional. This is a win-win all around for Tallaght.”

With the announcement, Minister Norma Foley said: “I am pleased to confirm that a project to provide a new 1,000 pupil post-primary school building, including a four-classroom Special Education Needs base for Tallaght Community School has been approved.”

The decision was made by the Schools Capital Appraisal Section of the Department of Education after undergoing an assessment of the school’s accommodation requirements.

The level of additional accommodation required the cost of necessary roof works and future energy retrofit costs to be considered when coming to the decision.

“It’s known that we have been struggling with ongoing maintenance issues in the school and all the students are familiar with the issues because they’d be familiar with navigating the orange buckets throughout the corridors when it rains – which was also causing electrical issues for us as well,” Cllr Duff said.

“The building is feeling its age – it is 50 years old now.

“We’ve seen the specification for the project to build the new school and it is remarkable.

“The simple fact that we’re to get an SEN base is truly terrific.

“New labs, play areas, a hall – it’s remarkable. We are very excited about the announcement.”

The school was due to undergo repair works to the building under the Summer Works Scheme.

However, this project will no longer go ahead given the proposed significant investment needed for the new building.

Instead, full focus will go into the delivery of the new school building with a brief for the project currently being finalised with a view to progressing to the architectural planning process as soon as possible.

It is understood that the project will be a new build on the same campus in Balrothery, with the school remaining on site in the existing building until it is completed.

There will not be a need for temporary accommodation for the school.

Any interim works on the roof that may be required pending delivery of the new building will be considered separately if needs be.

While the plans are subject to planning permission, Cllr Duff is “hopeful that the community can get behind the school, as they have been up to this point” to ensure the project can be delivered in a timely fashion.

Following the announcement, Fianna Fáil Cllr Charlie O’Connor said that “this announcement will be warmly welcomed across the community” and that “it was important that arrangements are now put in place to expedite the process”.