COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

south dublin county council crest

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

QUESTION NO. 18

QUESTION: Councillor B. Bonner

To ask the Manager, in relation to a proposed new VEC run primary school at Tór an Rí, Balgaddy could a number of issues be clarified please.

1.  Is the proposed new site not far too close to the existing Archbishop Ryan Junior and Senior National schools?

2.  Will another large school in this immediate area not exacerbate the existing traffic and parking problems on the Balgaddy Road?

3.  Does the council have a long term vision for the Balgaddy area and how does this new school project fit in to that vision?

4.  Would it not make more sense to use this site for a second level school for the pupils who have gone through the Archbishop Ryan Schools?

5.  What input does the council and councillors have into the selection of sites for schools?  

REPLY:

The Department of Education and Skills has identified that there is a need to accommodate an additional 45,000 primary school pupils and almost 25,000 post primary schools pupils nationally by 2017/2018. The level of increased demand will require that many of the permanent solutions will be needed within three years. On June 1st 2012 a Memorandum of Understanding between the Department of Education and Skills and the County and City Managers’ Association for the Acquisition of Sites for School Planning came into effect. South Dublin County Council has been working closely with the Department of Education and Skills to acquire sites to deliver urgently required schools in the county. In February 2012 the Department of Education and Skills requested that SDCC identify appropriate sites for permanent primary schools at the following locations:

Following consultation with the DoES in May / June 2012 a refined shortlist of possible sites in each location was drawn up and site valuations were finalised in July / August 2012. SDCC is pursuing the acquisition of these sites, in an expedient manner reflecting the urgent requirement for permanent schools at the above locations, including at Lucan. The Valuers, working on behalf of SDCC, are currently in negotiations with land owners of the preferred permanent sites with the aim that permanent schools will be opened by September 2015/2016.

The DoES requires new primary schools to be open in Lucan, Firhouse, and Tallaght West by September 2013. Following consultation with the DoES SDCC identified a site to accommodate a school at a temporary location in Lucan, until the negotiations to acquire the permanent school site are finalised, thereby ensuring that a school building will be in place by September 2013. It was required that the temporary site would:

·         Be located where there will be a demand for school places in 2013,

·         Be in close proximity to the identified permanent school location,

·         Meet the technical requirements of the Council, including traffic / water and drainage etc, and

·         Minimise cost outlays for the DoES due to the temporary nature of the school location.

The SDCC owned site at Tor an Rí meets the above requirements. The replacement permanent school elsewhere in Lucan is identified in the Department of Education and Skills 5 Year Programme, launched in March 2012, and it is aimed that this permanent school will be open in 2016.

The Department of Education and Skills has also purchased a site in the Clonburris LAP lands, to the south of the Fonthill Link Road, to serve the South Lucan area with a post primary school. This school is included in the Department of Education and Skills 5 year programme and is due to go to construction this year with an opening date of September 2014. A planning application for this post-primary school should be lodged imminently with SDCC.