A Donegal deputy has reiterated his call for the Minister for Education, Hildegarde Naughton to urgently accept the invitation from the Student Council of St Eunan’s College to visit the school and to see for herself the unacceptable condition of the old existing buildings.
Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn was speaking after the news of the shocking omission of St Eunan’s College from the Government’s list of school building projects for 2026 and 2027.
Last December the Sinn Féin TD had a full tour of the school along with his colleague, Cllr Gerry McMonagle, at the invitation of the Student Council.
“I have done this tour a number of times over the years, but I have to say, I was really shocked at the current condition of the college. These are impossible conditions for both students and teachers to work in.
“There is the original building from 1906 but most of the existing school buildings date back to 1979. You can clearly see the dilapidated conditions of the buildings throughout. There is essentially no disability access in the entire college,” he said.
The college has 1,000 students today in a school that was designed for hundreds. They started to engage in 1999 with the Department and the Ministers and it has just dragged on and on.
“This is a fantastic school. I do not know how they deliver the standard of education they do in the facilities they have,” said Deputy MacLochlainn.
“For example, there are eight toilet cubicles for a population of 1,000 students. If you go through the old buildings, they are in appalling condition and there is black mould, windows are broken and boarded up, walls are damp and soaking wet as you run your hands down them and there are totally inadequate and overcrowded amenities for young people to congregate during lunch breaks and to move from classroom to classroom. It is absolutely appalling”.
Since his visit to St Eunan’s College, Deputy MacLochlainn secured a special debate in the Dáil and has repeatedly asked the Minister to also visit the school.
“Not only has she refused to do so, but she has also still not agreed to meet a delegation from the Student’s Council, who are willing to travel to Dublin to meet her there.”
He stressed the need for urgency in the plan for the new school buildings and no more delays.
“The publishing of this list of school building projects for 2026 and 2027 is another insult to the students and teachers.
“I again appeal to the Minister, Deputy Naughton, to come to Donegal as soon as possible to do a full tour of St Eunan’s College because it is utterly unacceptable. And then to drive the new school project forward with urgency,” Deputy MacLochalinn concluded.
