Change in Minister must not further delay Dunshaughlin school buildings 

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Education and Youth, Darren O’Rourke TD, has said that the change in Minister for Education and Youth must not lead to any further delays for the new school building projects for Coláiste Ríoga and Dunshaughlin Community National School, branding the ongoing hold-ups as “inexcusable.”  He raised the delays in the Dáil recently with the then-Minister for Education, Helen McEntee. Following a cabinet reshuffle, Hildegarde Naughton TD has now been appointed as the new Minister for Education and Youth.

Teachta O’Rourke said; “It is with immense frustration that I am forced, once again, to highlight the ongoing and inexcusable delays plaguing the new school building projects for Coláiste Ríoga and Dunshaughlin Community National School. “Planning permission for this vital campus project was granted a full five years ago, in November 2020. Today, in November 2025, our students and school communities are still waiting, with no builder on site and no certainty about when construction will even begin.

“The update I received from the former Minister in the Dáil confirms the deeply worrying situation we find ourselves in. The fact that the first and second-placed tenderers withdrew from the process speaks to a wider crisis in the management of the Department’s capital projects. While it was claimed there is “nothing unusual” about this, it is clear that systemic issues are causing contractors to walk away, leading to catastrophic delays for our children’s education.

“The consequence of this failure is stark. Both schools will require additional, temporary prefab accommodation next September because their permanent homes remain unbuilt. This is a direct result of government inaction and poor project management. It is an insult to the pupils, parents, and dedicated staff who have been patient for so long.

“We are told the funding is in place, but funding is useless without the competence to deliver the project. The community is tired of vague assurances and wants to see builders on site.

“With a new Minister, Hildegarde Naughton, now in office, I am demanding that she personally intervenes to break this logjam. I have written to her in this regard. The Department of Education and Youth must immediately issue the letter of acceptance to the remaining contractor and provide a definitive, public timeline for the commencement and completion of these projects. The children of Dunshaughlin cannot be left in limbo any longer. They deserve modern, permanent school facilities, and they deserve them now.”