Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed is the only co-educational and multidenominational school in Thurles. It has DEIS status and is the only provider of ASD classes to boys in Thurles. It is experiencing continual pressure to accommodate increasing enrolments since 2010. It has an enrolment of 500 post-primary students, which is an increase of 90% in the past six years. This enrolment does not include post-leaving certificate students. The school has reluctantly suppressed enrolments for the past three years. From 158 applications this coming academic year, the school has only been in a position to accept 120 students.

The Department of Education is incorrectly interpreting the demand for places based on the reduced enrolment by the school rather than the actual demand for places. Following a comprehensive analysis and despite the suppression of numbers, the school has confirmed a projected enrolment of 750 post-primary students.

The current building is 40 years old and is not fit for purpose. The roof is leaking, the school is trying to manage 37 leaks, suspended ceilings are collapsing regularly due to roof leaks and the flooring throughout the building is confirmed as a serious health and safety hazard. The entire building is in poor condition with an outdated and inefficient heating and energy system.

The Department keeps putting forward stopgap temporary solutions. Tipperary Education and Training Board has had ongoing interactions and significant discussions with the planning authority in securing permission for temporary units on the school site. There is grave reluctance on the part of the planning authority to grant permission for additional temporary units to be installed on the site. The planning authority has told it verbally and in writing that it is strongly of the view that the Department should be prioritising the replacement of the existing temporary units rather than installing more of them.

The cost-benefit analysis to rectify the countless design and structural issues clearly indicates that the most cost-effective option is to build a new school. Thankfully, all other schools in Thurles have benefited from significant infrastructural development over the past ten years. Coláiste Mhuire Co-Ed operates in a building constructed in 1981 that presents operational health and safety risks. It abjectly fails to comply with the normal standards of a modern post-primary campus. In a professional report commissioned by the board of management, many elements of the construction are described as having reached the end of their useful life. Any investment through the summer works scheme or an ad hocinvestment is no longer a realistic or viable option. The accommodation needs of the school must be addressed with a new permanent structure.

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