No date yet for work  to restart on Saplings

CONSTRUCTION of the new Saplings Special School is to restart in the near future, but no date has been confirmed for the work to begin. The building site in Graiguecullen has been idle for over a year, sparking concerns particularly among parents of children with autism.

The construction of the highly-specialised school began in March 2023, but after the basic ground work was carried out on the greenfield site in Fruithill the work stopped completely last summer.

Yesterday (Monday), school principal Lesley Brant confirmed to The Nationalist that work on the site will start but couldn’t say for definite when that would be. She also said that they hoped that the school would be completed next year.

“We have positive news. It will restart but we don’t have the details of when that will be,” said Ms Brant.

The funding for the school isn’t provided by the Department of Education, as it usually would be. Instead, the money is coming from a scheme called the ‘Immigrant Investor Programme’ (IIP), which was handled by the Department of Justice. The scheme allows international investors to donate money to developments such as schools and other public buildings in return for visas. The scheme is now closed, but Saplings Special School managed to get its application through and approved before it closed.

The application was also made in pre-Covid years so building costs have escalated during the intervening period.

The issue with the new school is that there was a problem with funding, as confirmed by Ms Brant. She said that the project is being funded through private donations and that they needed to find more donations to get the work done.

“Because it’s being done through private donations, that was the hold-up. We were looking for further donations,” she confirmed.

Earlier this year, The Nationalist was told by the then-principal Kerrie Wickham that the work would restart in March – a full 12 months after the sod was turned – with the project expected to be completed by January 2025. But with just two months to go to the expected completion date, that’s not possible.

The project was to be completed in two phases, with the first phase being the work that was carried out last year.

The school, which specialises in teaching children and young people on the autism spectrum, is currently housed in a community centre and prefabs in Killeshin village. There are 30 pupils, ranging in age from four to 18 years’ old, with six teachers and 17 special needs assistants.

The new 1,200 square metre school was designed by CDP Architects, with every classroom having its own garden, resource room, sensory area and toilets. One end of the building will feature an assembly hall, while there will also be a therapy and sensory rooms. Outside, a specialised play area and an outdoor classroom will be developed.