Parking at Tullamore College is 'health and safety' issue

8th February 2019

THE parking situation at Tullamore College is a “health and safety” issue, Monday's meeting of the Laois & Offaly Education and Training Board (ETB)was told.

Vivienne Keenan asked for a timeline on the completion of the work at the new school so that the parking on the grounds can be provided.

Joe Cunningham, chief executive of the ETB, said he will be meeting the bondsmen next Wednesday (February 6).

“We hope that will allow matters to progress from there on. A huge amount of work has been done by the design team and the architect to identify the remaining works and the snags that have to be completed,” he said.

Work has to take place on some “defects” and phase two of the projects is mainly ground works.

“A lot of the hard work, the spade work, has been done on it and we need to meet the bondsmen to make our case in terms of how we progress that,” said Mr Cunningham.

Mr Cunningham said he could not give a timeline until he met the bondsmen.

“We have to be realistic about it. To open it this minute, it just isn't possible from an insurance point of view,” he said, adding that the matter is a priority.

Molly Buckley drew the board's attention to the delay in completing the new school's playing fields.

“If they're not done before the summer we're back again to another year for the seeding,” said Ms Buckley.

She also referred to issues with the sound in the gym and told the meeting: “The school is brilliant and the work that has been done is brilliant but these things really are making it difficult.”