Scale of Wicklow school delays laid bare as 16 overdue projects identified amid overcrowding concerns

By Hugh O'Farrell Walsh, The Wicklow People

From leaking roofs and overcrowded classrooms to years spent in prefabs, students across Wicklow are continuing to bear the cost of delays to a staggering 16 school building projects.

Councillors have now demanded firm timelines from the Department of Education, warning that rising pupil numbers are putting unprecedented pressure on school infrastructure.

The motion, tabled by Cllr Danny Alvey at the September Wicklow County Council meeting, warned that Wicklow’s population surged by 14pc between the 2011 and 2022 censuses, with even higher growth in major towns.

Much of that increase, he said, is driven by young families moving into the county, placing severe strain on school places.

An impression of what the new Blessington Community College building will look like once constructed.

“As we come into another September and thousands of students across this county return to overcrowded or unsuitable buildings, I felt the timing was right,” Cllr Alvey told the chamber.

He said he began drafting the motion with a few schools in mind, but was “shocked at how many schools were actually affected”, eventually listing 16 projects in an appendix.

He outlined how in Newtownmountkennedy, where he lives, one primary school’s roof is “barely holding together with constant leaks”, while another has been operating entirely in prefabs for seven years.

In Wicklow town and Rathnew, six primary schools are “absolutely packed”, with one returning mother unable to secure places for any of her three children.

Cllr Caroline Winstanley, cathaoirleach of the council, seconded the motion and said students at North Wicklow Educate Together Secondary School have gone through their entire education without a permanent building. Designed for 1,000 pupils, the school can only take 300 due to lack of facilities.

Cllr Paul O’Brien said he had “no confidence in the department”, citing the seven-year wait to fix the roof at Bray Institute of Further Education, and its previous insistence that Greystones didn’t need a new school, despite the new Greystones Community College opening last week already near capacity.

“We can send off this letter, but I can guarantee from experience we’re going to get a letter back acknowledging the letter in the hope we forget about it,” he said.

Cllr O’Brien also warned that even if buildings were delivered, teacher shortages mean they may not be staffed. He proposed an amendment requesting that Department officials be asked to answer questions directly at a council meeting.

Cllr Lourda Scott said the Department’s building and forward planning sections were “not fit for purpose”, noting that Greystones Community College took eight years to deliver from sanction to completion.

During that time, pupils were squeezed into prefabs, special education classes were placed in mainstream rooms due to lack of space, and families endured years of uncertainty.

She said Greystones councillors had already sought a meeting with Tánaiste and Wicklow TD Simon Harris about infrastructure concerns, linked to the government’s call for additional housing sites, but had received no response.

Cllr Sylvester Bourke highlighted that Arklow CBS still has classrooms in a converted container, despite having planning permission for a new school, while Cllr Stephen Stokes said parents in Greystones routinely ask about school places whenever new housing is proposed.

The motion passed with consensus, including the request for Department officials to attend a council meeting.