Date: 15 April 2021
Green Party TD, Steven Matthews has welcomed news that Temple Carrig School in Greystones has been approved for new classroom facilities following a lengthy engagement process with the Department of Education. Discussing the announcement, Deputy Matthews said:
“As many parents in Greystones will know, there have been longstanding issues between schools in the area and the Department of Education with regards to accommodation, planning and school places. All of the Wicklow TDs have been having monthly meetings with the Department of Education since last Halloween to outline our very serious concerns with regards to school places and planning ahead for the coming years so that it wont be an annual problem as it seems to be at the moment.
“We have already seen significant progress with Greystones Community College and now to get confirmation of the new facilities for Temple Carrig, it’s hugely welcome to see that the Department are acting on our requests. As any of the parents’ groups who are in contact with me will know, I have been pushing for confirmation of school places and accommodation since last year, so any progress is great to see.
New Temple Carrig Facilities:
· 1 x General classroom
· 1x Music room
· 1x Textiles room
· 1x Graphics room
· 1x Multimedia room
· 1x Science lab, 1x Science prep area
· 2x Tech and shared prep area
· 3 Classroom SEN base
“Our primary objective in meeting with the Department in recent months was to address the short-term issue of places for this coming September but this announcement shows forward planning that I know many parents/ schools were concerned about.
“I also hope that this added accommodation for Temple Carrig and elsewhere in the broader Greystones area will open opportunities for students in St. Andrew’s National School in Bray to attend Temple Carrig as a feeder school. I am in frequent talks with the Boards of Management in both schools and I hope to be able to confirm a meeting with the Department in the short term to assist both schools in ironing out some longstanding issues in terms of mixed communications at various levels.
“I know that this announcement wont offer comfort to all parents as there are still outstanding accommodation issues for schools including Coláiste Chraobh Abhann and others, but I will continue to work with the Department and the schools until these issues can be rectified. I’m also working at a broader level with the Department of Education and planners to deal with the long-term availability of school places. This is vital so that parents, students and teachers in future years don’t have to go through the stress that parents in recent years have experienced, concluded Deputy Matthews.
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