'˜Groundhog Day' for school campus

The project will see Crana College, Colaiste Chineal Eoghain and Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha all located on the one campus.

Six sites had been identified for assesment and site visits by personnel from the Department for Education and Skills took place in 2015.

However, Colr Nicholas Crossan told members at the monthly meeting of the Inishowen Municipal District this week, that a seventh landowner had been approached ‘to see if he would sell land for the new school campus.’

“This is a different piece of land to the six previously identified. Someone has spoken to me saying they had been approached to sell land for the school. In my opinion, we’re further back than we were in 2015.”

Colr Rena Donaghey also expressed her dissapointment that there had been no movement on the project.

“There’s no more news, no more information, no more movement and we have come to the end of another school year.

“Absolutely nothing seems to be happening. The schools are bursting at the seams. This has gone beyond a joke. It’s not fair, we’re not being told the truth,” she added.

“It’s a copy and paste job every time. Colr Crossan’s source is reliable,” she maintained.

Colr. Donaghey added that she would be happy with the option of exploring other sites, but asked the council to “move on with it, and let us know what is happening.”

Colr John Ryan, who is a member of the Board of Management of Crana College said it was a case of “Groundhog Day.”

He praised staff at Crana College and said they may have to use a basketball court to install additional prefab classrooms this year. “We were told it would be on the list to build in 2018/2019. I just don’t know where we take it from here,” he said.

A spokesperson for Donegal County Council said the council “is currently not looking at any other sites outside the sites that were forwarded to the Department in 2015.” Colr Crossan said that he simply wanted clarification that the campus is going to move on. “If they are looking at another site is it going to delay a tender going out?”