I have received confirmation from the Minister for Education that progress is being made on the building projects to amalgamate Athenry Boys and Athenry Girls National Schools and the proposed Gaelscoil campus.
“The Minister has confirmed that additional land is required for the new amalgamated national school and that agreement has been reached in principle with the landowner for the acquisition of the land.
The Minister has further confirmed the Department of Education will progress the preparation of the Accommodation Brief for the building project. This will allow for the project to go to design, planning, procurement, and construction”.
I have also received confirmation from the Minister that the new Gaelscoil campus is progressing. The project has been devolved to GRETB and is currently at Stage 2a of the architectural planning process. The Department received the Stage 2a Report from GRETB in January 2023.
Subject to no significant issues arising during the completion of the Stage 2a process and following approval in that respect, the next step for GRETB and its Design Team will be to obtain the requisite statutory planning approvals. The project can then be expected to progress to tender and construction stages in due course.
“I am continuing to keep pressure on the Department to deliver these much-needed modern Educational Facilities in the town of Athenry are delivered in the shortest time possible. Athenry is a growing town and the demand for modern educational facilities are required to complement the existing new modern secondary schools already delivered.”