Deputy Willie Penrose has welcomed the news that The Downs National School, Mullingar and Clonbonny National School, Athlone are being offered the opportunity to erect permanent buildings in place of the prefabricated structures currently in place to accommodate pupils.
The announcement was made this week by Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn, and is phase two of a prefab replacement scheme that the Minister put in place last year.
“A number of schools in Westmeath have already benefitted from this programme. It is important that young pupils at primary level have the best and most comfortable accommodation available to them, and I am delighted that permanent accommodation is now being provided in these schools,” said Deputy Penrose.
“Prefabs are all right for temporary or emergency accommodation purposes in order to address a pressing need, but they were allowed to assume, in some instances, permanent status. From a cost efficient point of view the provision of permanent classroom structures is important.”
