KILFINANE OFFERS TO PITCH IN TO BUILD SCHOOL

Kilfinane parents, desperate to see work begin on a new school in the village, have offered money saved for school improvements to get the project going.

While the money raised by the community was intended to provide a larger assembly hall for the school than the Government allocation would allow, anxious parents have now informed the department that they are willing to put the funds, in the region of €136,000, towards kick starting the building of the long delayed new school this year.

Sonia Sheehan of Kilfinane National School Parents’ Council this week explained to The Avondhu that the group have earmarked November 10 as the date they want to see construction start.

Furthermore the funds raised by parents would go towards paying for the project until 2009, when they hope Minister for Education Batt O’Keeffe will allocate money for the construction under next year’s budget.

“We have written to the minister and every TD in the country to asked them to speak to the minister on our behalf. We are looking for construction to start on November 10 this year,” Sonia said.

“The money we had raised was originally due to be introduced in stages when needed, such as towards the construction of a larger assembly hall. We are now prepared to give that money up front to get the ball rolling, on provision that the Government start funding in 2009.”

Sonia added that a landscaping plan for the site, drawn up by a Kilfinane resident, would be implemented by the community at no cost to the Department of Education.

The proposal is the latest development in the long delayed process of delivering a new school for Kilfinane, after the existing building, without indoor toilets, was deemed unsuitable for use by a Department of Education report in the late 1990s.

This time last year a new 6-teacher school, on a donated green field site in the village, was granted planning permission. The tendering process was delayed until after the previous budget, after which it was given the go-ahead. Now the schools building programme is “under review”, with reports suggesting that the department has already run out of funding for the initiative.

Following a series of high profile protests, Minister O’Keeffe said he would not “be held hostage” on the matter. The Department of Education have yet to reply to this latest proposal.

 

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