Pressure mounts on Department of Education as temporary accommodation strains Wicklow schools
The Wicklow PeopleA delegation of Fine Gael TDs and councillors has appealed to Education Minister Hildegarde Naughton to advance long-delayed second level school building projects in Wicklow, warning that communities in the south and west of the county “cannot be left behind” as national investment in education accelerates.
The group met the minister and senior officials to press for progress on redevelopment plans for Avondale Community College in Rathdrum, Coláiste Bhríde in Carnew, Arklow CBS in Arklow, and St Kevin’s Community College in Dunlavin, all announced in 2021 and fully planning approved since 2024, but still awaiting approval to go to tender.
Deputies Brian Brennan and Edward Timmins joined councillors Avril Cronin, Pat Mahon and Peter Stapleton, with input from Cllr Sylvester Bourke. While acknowledging what they described as “record levels of investment” in education nationally, they said Wicklow’s four projects had “waited long enough” and must be prioritised in the department’s next tranche of approvals.
They praised the resilience of the school communities, saying staff and students had performed “exceptionally well despite years of uncertainty”, but warned that temporary accommodation and overcrowding were now placing unsustainable pressure on facilities.
The delegation highlighted Department of Education figures showing that, as of May 31 2026, 92 large scale school projects nationally were at Stage 2b, the detailed‑design phase immediately before tender.
When the government announced its first tranche of 105 prioritised projects at the start of this year only 13 of those 92 Stage 2b projects were included.
“The remaining 79, including Avondale, Coláiste Bhríde, Arklow CBS and St Kevin’s remain at detailed design, awaiting the funding decision that would let them go to tender,” the group said.
“We had genuinely hoped our four schools would be among the projects prioritised back in January; they were not, and we cannot let them drift to the back of the queue.”
The group said these schools and their communities deserve to have certainty on the timeline for their future development.
They welcomed confirmation that the department is now assessing Stage 2b projects individually rather than in bundles, with priority to be given to schools with significant special education provision, those reliant on temporary accommodation and those facing acute demographic pressure.
The delegation argued that Wicklow’s four schools “stand up strongly” against all three criteria and urged the Department to engage directly with principals and boards of management as part of the process.
Cllr Peter Stapleton, who sits on the boards of Avondale Community College and Coláiste Bhríde, said the delegation had come “not to make demands, but to make the case for our own community”.
He pointed to rapid population growth in Rathdrum, where housing numbers have risen from 691 in 2016 to 1,242 by the end of last year, with permission in place for another 200 homes.
“Our primary schools are now at record enrolments, with Avondale being continually oversubscribed with lists for first year,” he said. “These schools have performed remarkably well through a long wait for their new buildings; now they need the State to back them.”
Deputy Brian Brennan said that while headline demographic figures for Arklow “might, at first glance, appear to be moving in the wrong direction”, they did not reflect the town’s future trajectory.
“We are on the cusp of a major surge in house building in the town over the coming years, and the State has to plan for the Arklow of the future, not the Arklow of today’s statistics,” he said. “Forward planning and foresight are exactly what is required, and I made that case directly to the minister.”
Deputy Edward Timmins said that in rural parts of west and south Wicklow, the local school is “the centre of the community, it is where families put down roots and where our towns and villages sustain themselves”.
He said investing in these schools was “investing in the future of those communities”, and that the delegation was determined to see the projects delivered.
Cllr Avril Cronin, a board member at St Kevin’s Community College, said the people who know the schools best are “the principals, teachers and boards of management who run them day and daily”.
She said it was “essential that the department engages directly with those stakeholders” so that decisions are shaped by “the reality on the ground”.
Cllr Pat Mahon and Cllr Sylvester Bourke said meaningful consultation with each school would be “the crucial next step”. “They hold the detail on enrolment pressure, accommodation and need, and that knowledge must inform how each project is brought forward,” they said.
The delegation said it would continue working together to advance all four projects and expected further engagement with the minister and department as the prioritisation exercise progresses.