Department of Education defends handling of Westport school saga

THE Department of Education maintains that allowing Westport’s all-girls Sacred Heart School (SHS) to use the former Scoil Phádraig on a temporary basis ‘represents the best overall solution for the children of Westport’.

In a statement issued to The Mayo News following the demonstration by Holy Trinity NS students and staff and other locals outside Scoil Phádraig on Friday, the Department said that the unused building would address the ‘urgent temporary accommodation needs for Sacred Heart School’.

The development of the former Scoil Phádraig building on Altamount Street as a four-classroom school for Holy Trinity NS is currently at Stage 2a (Developed Sketch Scheme). Preliminary works on the building are due to start shortly, and the department said this would ‘serve as a first phase for the Holy Trinity NS project’.

“The progression of the project for the remainder of the works will be managed in tandem with the Sacred Heart School project, to facilitate the commencement of the works upon the vacation of the building by Sacred Heart School,” said the Department spokesperson.

The Department said that it is ‘fully committed’ to the delivery of the project, despite opposition from Holy Trinity NS and local representatives to it being used to accommodate SHS.

The Department said it is ‘the only viable solution to meet this urgent temporary accommodation need in the timeline required’.

The all-girls secondary school is currently using modular accommodation on their grounds to facilitate the vacation of parts of the school that were in poor condition.

“The Department is aware that the use of the former Scoil Phádraig building as an interim solution for Sacred Heart School has raised some concerns on the part of the Holy Trinity NS community,” continued the Department’s statement.

“In that context, the Department has had very productive engagement with the school’s patron, the Bishop of Tuam, Limerick and Killaloe. Department officials have confirmed to the patron that there is a continued commitment to the delivery of the Holy Trinity NS project and set out some assurances and proposals of how the Department can support Holy Trinity NS in the interim as well as enhancing the overall outcome for the school in the medium-term.”

The Department has invited all relevant patrons to quarterly update meetings to monitor progress on the projects for Holy Trinity NS and Sacred Heart School. The first meeting of this group is scheduled for the end of this month.

In respect of the safety concerns expressed about Holy Trinity’s 19th-century building on the Newport Road, the Department said it “is aware that Holy Trinity NS has limited facilities within its existing accommodation. In that context, the Department has indicated it is willing to support the school to access local facilities, such as a hall, pending the completion of the school’s project. The Department is open to receiving a proposal from the school in that respect.”

“The Department’s position is that the use of the Scoil Phádraig building on a temporary basis by the Sacred Heart School, together with the delivery of significant permanent school building projects for Holy Trinity NS, Sacred Heart School and Westport ETNS [Educate Together National School], represents the best overall solution for the children of Westport,” it continued.

“The continued safe operation of schools – in this instance the Sacred Heart School – is of paramount importance to the Department. Again, however, the Department also remains committed to the Holy Trinity NS project and getting it delivered as quickly as possible.”