Westport Gaelscoil faces closure

MAKING THEIR POINT Pupils from Gaelscoil na Cruaiche gather under umbrellas to highlight the persistant construction defects within the school building which has resulted in several leaks. Pic: Conor McKeown

Nine-year-old school building ‘leaking like a sieve’

Anton McNulty

ONE of the most modern school buildings in Mayo may be forced to close its doors due to ongoing structural issues.
The Gaelscoil na Cruaiche building in Westport was built by the Department of Education in 2011, but it has been mired by structural problems for the last nine years. Now, says the school principal, ‘it is leaking like a sieve’.
A health and safety report by Bursec, health and safety consultants commissioned by the school in December, identified water ingress in many areas. Water was detected running along electric-cable ducting in the principal’s office, in a remedial room located adjacent to the Electric Distribution Room and in two sets of toilets and elsewhere.

‘Untenable’
The report identified serious risk hazards, and an emergency meeting of school’s board of management was held on Thursday. It was decided that due to the ‘gravity of the situation’ the board would have to take the ‘unprecedented step’ of informing the school’s insurance company, Allianz, of the risks highlighted in the report.
The board also informed parents that ‘a school closure is possible if immediate action is not taken by the department to remedy ongoing issues with the building’.
One of the school’s learning support rooms and two of its toilets have been closed off for health and safety reasons. Children with learning needs have had to share a room with another class.
“To date we have six active leaks in the school,” Mairéad Ní Ruain, the principal of Gaelscoil na Cruaiche, told The Mayo News. “We had to close one classroom and it [leaked water] is coming in my office, in the corridor and in three places in the hall. To manage this building, a full sweep of the building has to be done every morning to make sure there are no more leaks, and teachers have to inform us [of any leaks] almost immediately, and precautions have to be put in place. That is untenable. We decided at a board of management meeting that enough is enough,” she said.
The school currently has 217 pupils enrolled, with 31 new pupils already enrolled for 2021 and up to six enrolled for 2024. There is also a naíonra, ‘Naíonra Ceimeanna Beaga’, located in the building, with 32 enrolled in it.
“It is ironic that we are having our opening week next week where there is a demand for places, and yet we are fighting this,” Ms Ní Ruain said. “What needs to happen for us to have a safe and secure building for the children. Our greatest concern is for the safety of the children. Does it take for a child or a teacher to be electrocuted in order for them to do something?”

Years of problems
Gaelscoil na Cruaiche was founded in 1995. For the first 15 years of its existence, the school operated in temporary locations around Westport using prefabs and Portakabins before funding was approved for the school building on a site on the Golf Course Road.
The school opened in 2011, but almost immediately there were problems with the roof, which started to sag and leak. There were also problems with the sewerage system.
In June 2016, the school was closed when a Lohan and Donnelly Engineering report commissioned by the board of management found that the building was not fit for purpose and work was subsequently carried out on the roof.
However, in March 2017, a further Lohan and Donnelly report outlined that the structural issues had not all been addressed in the remedial work of the summer of 2016. This report was sent to the Department of Education, but no further action was taken.
KSN Construction Consultants was employed by the department as an independent surveyor, and its representatives visited the school in 2019. They carried out surveying work at the school in last summer, and in October they informed the school management that the building was in breach of fire regulations. This was because some internal doors were not up to standard and not enough firewall had been installed around the boiler room. Despite telling the Department of Education that remedial work would have to be undertaken, the school has not received any reply.
Ms Ní Ruain said the school contacted the building’s contractor, JJ Rhatigan, in November, but there were told that the construction company was no longer in a position to repair the leaks.

Responsibility
When The Mayo News visited the school yesterday (Monday), staff expressed their frustration at the lack of urgency to repair the leaks, and they said they currently feel unable to provide a safe environment for pupils and staff. In a letter to the Department of Education, the teaching staff stated that they have both a moral and a legal responsibility to their pupils.
“It is our fear that another closure is inevitable and this would certainly jeopardise the educational progress of the students involved, and cause loss of earning to the school which would negatively impact on the children’s education,” they wrote.
Ms Ní Ruain said the Department of Education are the custodians of the building and responsible for its upkeep, and she accused the department of repeatedly ignoring their concerns.
“We have been ignored by the department. They are fully aware of the problems. The officials have walked the building and witnessed [the leaks] but there is no urgency whatsoever in ensuring the safety of the children. That is the reality. We saw them in here with their clipboards, and they done nothing about it.
“It has affected the learning and teaching in the school. When you go into the toilets and see water in the light fitting … that is not right for a modern building. We were able to remain open when the contractor was returning to put a plaster on each leak, but at the moment we have six leaks. We want to know what the plan of works is. The leaks are not going away; they cannot ignore it.
“I rang [the Deparment of Education] and was told basically there is ongoing talks between the various parties. What that means I do not know. The question remains, why has the department ignored the very serious concerns outlined not only by the school but by independent contractors who have reiterated again and again the problems with the structure?”

Call for support
An email sent to the school on Friday from an official in the Department of Education’s Planning and Building Unit stated: “Please be assured we are in contact with all parties with a view to getting the issues resolved as soon as possible.”
The school has been forced to inform community groups that use the building outside of school hours that it is no longer available, which means the school will lose out on additional income.
Ms Ní Ruain said that if Allianz is unable to insure the school it will not be able to stay open, and she called on the local community to support the school in its efforts to get the Department of Education to act.
“It is soul destroying, considering we had 25 years invested trying to get a gaelscoil for Westport and considering we moved into a brand new building, the problems we had before were miniscule. We would ask the people of Westport to lobby the local representatives because our biggest fear is the insurance will pull out.
“We have a great school but this is eating into our time on a daily and weekly basis. The parents and the board and the teachers have invested too much in this school over the last 25 years for us to stay quiet,” she said.
Replying to questions from The Mayo News yesterday evening regarding the ongoing structural issues with Gaelscoil na Cruaiche, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said: “The department is aware of the roof leak issues at the school and will be putting arrangements in place to have them addressed. The department will keep the school fully informed as arrangements are made.”

Gaelscoil na Cruaiche problems - 2011 to present

June 2011 New school is opened.

July 2011 The roof begins to sag throughout the school. The original contractor completes remedial work.

2012 The ceiling in the kitchen and computer room begins to sag, further remedial work is required.

2012/2013 Work had to be completed on four occasions to correct the subsidence of the sewer pipes in the internal court yard.

2013 – 2016 Numerous leaks appear.

June 2016 The school had to be closed due to a Lohan and Donnelly report commissioned by the Board of Management which outlined that the school ‘wasn’t fit for purpose’.

March 2017 Lohan and Donnelly’s final report outlined that the structural issues were not addressed in the remedial work of the summer of 2016. This report was sent to the Department of Education and no further action was recorded.

2018 A health and safety report commissioned by the Board was forwarded to the Department regarding the leaks and safety concerns.

2017-2019 Numerous leaks continue to surface, and were corrected promptly by the original contractor.

2019 KSN Construction were appointed by the Department to survey the building in May, July and October. No formal findings were recorded despite being requested by the Board. On October 22, KSN informed the School Principal and Caretaker that the school building was in breach of Fire and Safety regulations including inadequate fire doors and firewall. A schedule of work was proposed but never began.

November 2019 The contractor was made aware of numerous leaks but no corrective action was taken.

December 29, 2019 A health and safety report commissioned by the Board of Management was sent to the Department and has remained unanswered.

January 2020 The number of leaks reached its highest peak.