Letterkenny Educate Together has been revealed as one of the schools affected by the Western Building Systems scandal.
The newly-opened national school is set to face structural assessment inspections in the coming days and weeks.
Letterkenny Educate Together is one of 42 school buildings in Ireland constructed by Western Building Systems which now face fire safety and structural concerns.
Parents of children at Letterkenny Educate Together received an update last night to allay fears relating to the announcement.
The School Board of Management seeks to assure parents that the inspection is a precautionary measure and there is no indication that the building is unsafe for pupils and staff at present.
It is not yet known if the school will be forced to close for a structural assessment.
Three three-story school buildings in Dublin have closed for inspections so far. The Department of Education has announced plans for teams of contractors to carry out inspections at all WBS schools over the weekend and during mid-term break.
Letterkenny Educate Together has told parents and guardians that further updates will be provided when more information is available.
The national school building, which was officially opened in February 2018, came at an approximate cost of €2.2 million.
Minister Richard Bruton officially opens Letterkenny Educate Together National School
Department of Education officials and Western Building Systems are due to meet today over the national issue.
The issue with the building company relates to school buildings constructed using a particular construction method (steel frame, timber infill). Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil that the main concerns over structural faults affect three-storey school buildings.
Education Minister Joe McHugh said, “I have asked my officials in conjunction with the project managers to advance the structural assessments as quickly as possible, including over the coming weekend. I want to try and get as many of the assessments as possible completed by the end of next week”.
Minister McHugh appealed to local communities to get in touch with their local Principals with any suggestions of interim solutions which can also be passed on to the Department.
A statement from the Letterkenny Educate Together school board said: “It is important to state as yet that neither Letterkenny Educate Together NS nor the Education Together national office has been given any information that indicates any immediate danger to persons in the Letterkenny Educate Together NS school building, nor any reason why Letterkenny Educate Together NS should not operate as normal.”
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