Curraghmore NS delays are 'unacceptable' says principal

The principal of Curraghmore National School says he is concerned for the health and safety of his pupils and staff as the conditions at their current home are “untenable” and “even dangerous”.

The school’s 286 pupils and staff were due to relocate to a new €5m facility on the Ardmore Road in time for the new academic year at the beginning of this month.

Due to complications in the early stage of construction, in January the completion date was initially put back to October. That has subsequently been extended by building firm PJ McLoughlin and Sons to April of next year, much to the dismay of the school community.

For the last two years the school has taken in two junior infant classes as they expected to be relocated to their new home in time for the start of the current academic year.

This increase in student numbers has forced the school to stagger opening times.

The two new junior infant classes now start at 8.30am in a bid to ease traffic congestion at the entrance of the school. Break times have also been staggered.

Originally a two-teacher school, Curraghmore has grown in tandem with the population on the east of Mullingar in recent decades. The school now has 16 teachers educating 286 pupils.

Most of the classes are housed in 10 rented prefabricated buildings, which have cost taxpayers in the region of €1.5m since 2001.

In a statement issued to the Westmeath Examiner on Friday (see below), school principal Michael Molloy noted that the school has actuality been waiting five years for a new home as the service level agreement between the Department of Education and Westmeath County Council was signed in September 2013.

Due to a lack of progress at the site, in June the school requested that representatives from its board of management attend the next site management meeting. Their request was refused.

The longer the wait continues for the new school to be completed, the more concerned he gets for the welfare of his pupils and staff, Mr Molloy says.

“From the outset projected milestones with the new build have not been met. The board have put contingency measures in place based on these promises. The health and safety of our pupils and staff are compromised on a daily basis as completion dates change from month to month – with the latest suggestion being April 2019.

“As principal responsible for the day to day running of our school, this is wholly unacceptable. Our pupils deserve proper facilities and infrastructure that is not detrimental to health and education.

Responses

A spokesperson for the Dept of Education says the completion date put forward by PJ McLoughlin and sons is “wholly unacceptable to the department and Westmeath County Council (WCC)”.
“WCC, supported by the department, is of the strong view that the remaining works should be completed before the end of 2018. This is now (inter alia) the subject of formal dispute proceedings, and as such, the department cannot comment further, but to say that WCC has our full support in pursuing as speedy a delivery of this project as possible.”
In a statement issued to the Westmeath Examiner, PJ McLoughlin and Sons outlined reasons for the delay. “Extremely difficult unforeseen ground conditions were encountered on this project, which involved the additional excavation of the ground in places to depths exceeding 12 metres, in order to reach solid ground. All of this additional work was below the water level and carried out during one of the harshest winters on record, culminating in an unexpected 6 months of delay. Every effort is being made to mitigate delays and provide a quality project.”

Deputy Peter Burke says that the delays are “unacceptable”. “After many years working on this project, I tabled a debate in the Dáil earlier this summer and put on record the frustration felt by teachers and parents in relation to ongoing delays with the delivery of this project. At that juncture, the minister reminded Westmeath County Council and the contractor that if strict deadlines were not met, financial penalties are automatically incurred by the contractor as per the contract.”

“However, in accordance with his rights, the contractor has now entered into a conciliation process to adjudicate on issues he believes have changed since the contract was signed. This will affect the timely delivery of the new school. I understand a number of specification points on the contract and ground conditions at the site have to be independently judged. This process is due to conclude in the next two weeks,” stated Deputy Burke.

He added that “it is imperative that all parties work together – the contractor, Westmeath County Council, the Dept of Education and public representatives so that the school is ready as soon as possible”.

“The main stakeholders who bare the brunt of the delays are the teachers, parents and children at the school, and with this in mind, I am now formally calling on the minister to appoint the principal and a representative of the parents council to be allowed a place to attend site meetings with the county council and the contractor to be kept fully informed on progress and avoid any information deficit,” concluded Deputy Burke.

Deputy Robert Troy said that those responsible for the “totally unacceptable” delays have to be held accountable.

“We can complain all we like but there has to be accountability. We have to look at how this problem was allowed to happen.

Are there consequences for someone who doesn’t meet their timeline?

“Its taxpayers’ money and I think we are a little too lax in terms of how state contracts are awarded.

“It’s a huge inconvenience for families. There are huge safety concerns. The school was never built for the level of staff and students there now.”