Fine Gael TD for Limerick Patrick O’ Donovan TD has to today welcomed the news that Scoil Mocheallóg in Kilmallock is to ber replaced with a new primary school as part of the €100 million school building programme investment announced by the Minister for Education and Skills Ruairi Quinn and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin today.
“I am delighted for the town of Kilmallock; this is a major announcement for them and is a massive investment for both current and future generations in the area. Scoil Mocheallóg under this investment programme will see the replacement of the school with state-of-the-art classrooms and facilities. The announcement by the Minister comes after a long process led by the school’s principal, staff, board of management and parents to provide a state of the art primary school for the town and wider area”.
“This announcement will also be important for employment in the town during the construction of the school and will create additional activity in the town of Kilmallock. I have been working closely with the school over the last number of months, to get to the point where we are at today, there is no doubt that the current school was in need of major repair and was not fit for purpose. It is unfortunate that forces outside the school and the Department of Education and Skills control have delayed this project until now. It is a great day for Kilmallock and in particular for the children”.
This school building investment programme as announced this morning will see major investment that will fund the replacement or refurbishment of 18 primary schools and 10 post-primary schools providing state-of-the-art classrooms and facilities for over 10,000 students nationally. The 28 schools are in addition to the 275 major school building projects announced in March 2012 under the Five Year Plan. They are all schools where extensive architectural planning is complete and so they can progress quickly to tender and construction before the end of this year.
These projects were not part of the Five Year Plan, they have continued to progress through architectural planning, and we are delighted to announce that additional funding means they can now proceed to tender and construction.
We have always been clear that schools which were well advanced through the planning process would be best placed to benefit from any additional funding which becomes available. It is expected that over 1,200 direct and indirect construction jobs will be created through the projects. Local communities will also benefit, as many schools make their grounds and buildings available for a range of community activities.
