Half-built special needs school in Laois has bushes and weeds growing around it
The Saplings site at Graiguecullen.
TWO years on from when development began on the construction of a new school in Laois for children with special needs, the pupils have had to move into prefabricated buildings 6km away, with weeds and bushes growing up around the half-built school.
The issue was raised in the Dáil by Independent Republican TD Brian Stanley when he asked for clarification from the Minister for Special Education John O’Mahony as to when the new school would be completed and the pupils moved back in.
Deputy Stanley said: “The Saplings school in Graiguecullen had to move out of the building it was in. It is now located in the village of Killeshin in prefabs.
“The construction work started on a new school in March 2023, However, after ground works were carried out and the walls were built on the greenfield site at Fruithill, provided by Laois County Council, work stopped in late 2023.
“The school was told that work would resume but no details were given. Two years have passed. I am aware that funding for this project was not provided by the Department of Education, but it needs to be progressed.”
He said: “The funding was provided by the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) handled by the Department of Justice. That programme is now closed, but the Saplings school is only half built. The project needs to be got up and running again. The application was made in the pre-Covid years, so the building costs have escalated massively. That is the reality. As I understand it, €4 million was allocated by the Department of Justice. But the Department of Justice cannot fund it because the programme to which I refer is closed.”
He asserted: “It cannot be done through private donations because there is a gap of between €2.6 million and €3 million. The school, which has 30 special, high-dependency students, cannot raise in the region of €3 million. Those are the facts.”
Deputy Stanley said: “Currently, the school is in Killeshin village in prefabs. The principal’s office is in an adjacent cloakroom in the local community hall. The site where the new school is to be built has bushes and weeds growing up around it.”
Every classroom in the new 1,200 square metre school has its own garden, resource room, sensory area and toilets. One end of the building will feature an assembly hall, while there will also be a therapy and sensory rooms. Outside, a specialised play area and an outdoor classroom will be developed.
