Parents of children attending a primary school in Dún Laoghaire that has been in temporary accommodation for nine years say they have been left in “limbo” waiting for progress on a permanent school building.
Dún Laoghaire Educate Together National School opened in 2017 in Monkstown Grove in what was meant to be a temporary setting until the Department of Education sourced a permanent site.
However, almost a decade later, parents say pupils are still “eating lunch in prefab rooms” and participating in PE classes in a nearby public park, which must be checked by staff each time for broken glass, litter and “dog poo”.
About 150 pupils, staff and parents are set to march from the school to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council offices on Wednesday morning, where they will deliver handwritten letters to local representatives calling for the permanent school building to progress.
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In their letters, nine-year-old Roxanne MacHale and her seven-year-old sister Stella wrote how all they want “for Christmas is a new school building with a PE hall and quiet spaces”.
The walk was initiated by sixth-class pupils, who have spent their “entire primary education in temporary accommodation”.
“They will graduate in 2026 without ever stepping into the permanent school they were promised, and they do not want the younger children to face the same situation,” said Roxanne and Stella’s father, David MacHale.
“The children’s request is modest. A start date and a commitment that this project will no longer be pushed back,” he said.
Planning permission was ultimately secured in 2023 for a permanent building with 16 classrooms at the site of the former Dún Laoghaire Fire Station, while a design team was appointed later that year, though Mr MacHale said there has been “no movement” since.
“There’s no dates, there’s nothing,” he said, adding: “We’re just stuck in limbo.”
Gillian Hunt, a member of the school’s parent-teacher association, whose child graduated last June having spent eight years in temporary accommodation, said: “With no updates for the past 12 months what the community wants is a confirmed start date, for the project to go out for tender and a commitment it won’t get pushed back again.”
Principal Anne Marie Lillis said “despite the lack of a permanent home”, the school has “fantastic, dedicated teachers”.
“Imagine how much more we could do if we actually had a real school building,” she said.
The Department of Education said it is “currently close to completion” of the architectural design process for the project, after which it will move to the tender stage.
“The period of time it takes to progress through each of the stages varies from project to project, depending on its size and complexity and can often take longer than indicated,” a spokesperson said.
