Background
The Department of Education (DOE) have indicated to the Board of Management (BOM) that the Board should assist in identifying a suitable site and report back to them. A building sub committee was established with the aim of finding a site that would allow Glasnevin Educate Together National School develop a new school. The sub committee started with a map of the general area and began making enquires about any sites that had the potential to be developed as a school and also contacted local estate agents. The DOE has specific requirements about the size of a school site and requires that all new schools are double stream (2 class rooms of each class within the school). These requirements are particularly onerous for a city school as there are very few sites available in excess of the requirement of 2.56 acres. Many of the sites looked at were unsuitable for a variety of reasons such as distance from the school, lack of willingness to sell, size or topography. We also examined the possibility of staying on the existing site but felt it has limited potential owing to its small size compared to other sites. Following a general school meeting, the view of the parents was that the school should remain in the area, ideally as close as possible to the existing school.
Enterprise Site
In July 2010, the sub committee have made a detailed submission to the Department of Education and Science regarding the feasibility of our school moving across the road into some of the unoccupied buildings on the former Enterprise Ireland site. The Department has recently carried out a site inspection and the architects on the committee have been assisting them. Most of the buildings on the site have been on the market for rent without success owing to the current economic climate. The huge cost of maintaining the empty buildings was recently raised in the Dail and we have made the case that our proposal is an excellent cost efficient solution. We believe that other institutions are also looking for the site and we are anxious that any future development of the site should provide for our school.
The proposal would allow the adaptation of the existing state owned empty buildings into a two stream school, community hall and suitable play areas. We have also suggested that as a matter of urgency to alleviate the existing overcrowding that the senior classes should move across in phase one.
Fisheries Site
In December 2009, the sub committee made a very detailed feasibility study for the BOM on the Fisheries site adjacent to the school which was submitted to the DOE. This document included architectural drawings showing that a two stream school could be built on the site and allowing for a hall, out door play spaces and importantly reusing an existing building of architectural merit. The site falls short of the required size but we cited a number of other city schools which have been successfully developed on smaller sites. The site is in the ownership of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation and has been lying vacant for some time. The Minister of that Department Eamon Ryan is supportive of the proposal. We also made a submission that we should initially use part of the Fisheries building to alleviate the pressure on the existing school pending full redevelopment for a new school. Also for this study, we provided the DOE with details of the very overcrowded conditions for students and staff, lack of play areas, waiting lists and a geographic profile of where students attending GET come from. The BOM have been informed that the DOE are surveying the Fisheries site around this time and we wait with hope…...
Smurfit Site
The sub committee provided the BOM with a proposal (including a proposed site plan) on part of the Smurfit site located off Botanic Road. The site is in private ownership and is included in the Phibsborough Area Action Plan. The advantage of this proposal is that the Action Plan includes the development of a new national school on this site. The DOE acknowledged the submission made by the BOM but have not to our knowledge taken the matter any further.
Fisheries Site
In December 2009, the sub committee made a very detailed feasibility study for the BOM on the Fisheries site adjacent to the school which was submitted to the DOE. This document included architectural drawings showing that a two stream school could be built on the site and allowing for a hall, out door play spaces and importantly reusing an existing building of architectural merit. The site falls short of the required size but we cited a number of other city schools which have been successfully developed on smaller sites. The site is in the ownership of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Innovation and has been lying vacant for some time. The Minister of that Department Eamon Ryan is supportive of the proposal. We also made a submission that we should initially use part of the Fisheries building to alleviate the pressure on the existing school pending full redevelopment for a new school. Also for this study, we provided the DOE with details of the very overcrowded conditions for students and staff, lack of play areas, waiting lists and a geographic profile of where students attending GET come from. The BOM have been informed that the DOE are surveying the Fisheries site around this time and we wait with hope…...
Alternative Sites
While we are really wishing for a positive outcome on the Fisheries site, we are continuing to investigate other sites as a Plan B. The current site we are working on is the Enterprise site consisting of mostly unoccupied commercial buildings on a large site across the road from the school.
School Design
We hope that the DOE will enable the whole school community of children, staff and parents to have an input in terms of the design of any new school building as our limited options prevent a generic school prototype. It is hoped to start shortly with workshops with the students on their vision of what a new school building should include and to invite parents to put forward their aspirations for the needs of the new school building.
Participation
If you would like to participate in the building sub committee we would appreciate it. The following people are presently contributing to the sub committee.
Ray Lawless Board member, Attracta Hayden Principal (contact), Tania Miller, Erica Grainger, Roisin Murphy, John Maguire, Rosie McLaughlin, David McCloskey, Deidre O'Reilly, Paul Brennan.
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