Clara public meeting given update on new school saga

The Laois Offaly Education Board (LOETB) fully supports a proposal to develop a new school building for Ard Scoil Chiaráin Naofa on the former parochial house site, Drayton Villa, in Clara.

Confirmation of the LOETB's support for the development was relayed to concerned parents, local TDs and councillors in attendance at a public meeting held in Clara GAA Centre on Tuesday night.

The public meeting was organised by former councillor Sandy Feehan Smollen who, reflecting the views of over 100 parents present, called for an update on the new school building from the public representatives.

In 2019, the LOETB purchased Drayton Villa and plans were put forward to develop the new school there. However, in the intervening years, there has been concern locally at the lack of progress.

A letter from LOETB chairperson Cllr Neil Feighery, who was unable to attend the meeting, was communicated to those present, in which support for a new school building at Drayton Villa was reiterated.

"Significant progress has been made by the LOETB, agreement reached with Offaly County Council for the acquisition of the necessary lands at Drayton Villa for the school's development.

"The location of the new school building at Drayton Villa has been developed following an extensive consultation process with planning officials at Offaly County Council and an initial school design has been approved by the technical team at the Department of Education," Cllr Feighery stated.

The letter acknowledged that "a detailed cost comparison had been completed" and was under consideration by the Department of Education.

"LOETB plans to convert the existing school on Frederick Street into a future training and education centre offering a range of full and part-time courses for the Clara community. In this regard, discussions between the LOETB and SOLAS are ongoing and once concluded, I am confident the Drayton Villa project will progress," Cllr Feighery said.

Citing the cost of the project to be approximately €20m, Fine Gael TD John Clendennen told the meeting there was an "onus of work" on the public representatives to ensure that once the project progresses from its current Stage 2A status (which involves the detailed design stage of the school building process), and enters the public consultations and planning phases, a "state-of-the-art school will be delivered" for the community.

"I have no doubt that this project at Drayton Villa will be delivered but it will take time," Deputy Clendennen said, noting that there would be a saving to the Exchequer of €1.7m to build a new school on a green field site as opposed to redeveloping Ard Scoil Chiaráin Naofa at its current location.

Independent Deputy Carol Nolan said there needed to be a "better communication process" regarding the project.

"As public representatives, we must be impartial and work together to deliver this project. This is about the children and the community. I understand why you are all frustrated and this issue will be pushed, I can assure you," Deputy Nolan said.

Fianna Fáil TD Tony McCormack said that although it may be perceived that there is a "lack of urgency" with the project with "understandable frustration in the community", the matter was being "worked on in the Dail".

Sounding a word of caution, Sinn Féin Cllr Aoife Masterson argued that there was "no commitment" given by the Minister for Education, Deputy Helen McEntee, to the construction of a new secondary school in Clara or the site on which it is to be located, information she was relayed by her political party colleague, Deputy Claire Kerrane, who raised the issue during question time in the Dáil.

"Discussions are ongoing and no decision has been made on which site will be used for the development of this project. My hope is that Drayton Villa will be chosen as it is the correct site for this development," Cllr Masterson said.

Referencing the "mixed messaging" received from the public representatives, the school's Deputy Principal Miriam Pinkie queried if any school had previously reached Stage 2A of the development process and the project not come to fruition.

School principal Roger Geagan said that getting a new school was a "torturous process".

"There was an initial commitment given in 2019 to redevelop on our existing site but that was not going to meet our needs. This gave cause for some of the delay in building a new school as a new site was identified for the proposed development. It is frustrating, but we are going through the process together," Mr Geagan stated.

Jude Feehan, speaking from the floor of the meeting, expressed his hope that the project would be "out of the Stage 2A process in February 2026".

"Stage 2B, involving a public consultation process, should take 12 months. We should then be in a position to move forward with the planning and development phase which will take another 12 months bringing us to February 2028.

"Based on Department of Education guidelines, in three years and two months, planning will hopefully have gone through Offaly County Council, but we need to keep the pressure on our public representatives.

"So, this night three years, we should be standing in this room commending that the sod is to be turned on the Drayton Villa site. That is the target we should be setting ourselves," Mr Feehan said.