No Country For Young People in Dublin 15

A general sense of abandon has set in around Dublin 15.

Despite being the home of two cabinet ministers and a former Taoiseach, the residents of Dublin 15 seemingly does not benefit from having Dublin 15 being well-represented at the decision-making table.

With an election season brewing, the Department of Education have come under fire once again for their supposed apathy towards foundational issues in West Dublin.

Two high-profile utilities, St. Francis’ Xavier National School in Blanchardstown and the community centre in Tyrrelstown, are emblematic of the sense of destitution in the area.

A protest was held outside the Tyrrelstown Community Centre on Saturday, June 1 at the planned 6-month closure for essential repair works but without a contingency plan being put into place.

The community centre is heavily used by locals young and old, but while the repair works are scheduled to go on for 6 months there are no back-up plans in place.

The centre will be closed from July 1st, just as schools finish up.

In 2018, two Northside schools – one in Balbriggan and one in Tyrellstown – were forced to shut down after major building defects were found.

Tyrone-based construction company Western Building Systems were the company responsible for building the schools, and it has now transpired that they also built the community centre in Tyrelstown which was also found to have major building defects.

Former People Before Profit TD and local election candidate Ruth Coppinger said “the Department of Education owns the building and have known for several years that remedial structural works were needed — but alternative accommodation for vital clubs has not been secured before scheduling the works.”

She said the Tyrrelstown area has a “huge and diverse youth population but lacks basic recreational infrastructure arising from poor planning.”

“Both the local authority and state took decisions that left the area bereft of open space, pitches and other facilities. Now the community centre – the community hub – is to close, but with no assurances of alternative accommodation.”

She noted that the Dublin Sonics Basketball team, which has hundreds of young players, will be without facilities for months and have not been successful in securing alternative arrangements.

Dave Lawrence of the Dublin Sonics said that the decision to close the centre for repairs came as a surprise, with the centre being in use since 2018 without any problems.

It was claimed that the centre has to shut down for “urgent” repair works, but the team has been using the centre since 2018 and questioned why there was a sudden change of plans.

Speaking to Northside People, Lawrence said that the team did not find out until May that the centre would be closed from July onwards.

The short notice has left the team scrambling to find adequate facilities, but to no avail.

Lawrence said that he wanted to keep the team as close to Tyrellstown as possible, as travelling any further outside the cachmnent area would lead to a drop-off in participation among players.

“We have 180 to 200 players on the books,” he said, and expressed concern that there are no places in the Dublin 15 area to facilitate them.

He noted that other recreational activities, such as yoga or karate, didn’t need as much space and those groups could be easily relocated while the works are being carried out, but it was much more difficult to find space for basketball teams. 

“Since the middle of May, I have been on the phone non-stop trying to secure facilities but still keeping it close to the original location,” he said.

He noted that was the possibility of using a facility in Charlestown, but he noted that is a 15-minute drive from Tyrrelstown.

“During the summer holidays you have little Jimmy running around while mam is making dinner; normally you can just let him cycle down to the centre in Tyrrelstown no problem. We have instances of local kids just rocking up and the convenience is handy for them. If you were to change that and suddenly make folks drive 15 minutes in the other direction to Charlestown… that isn’t going to work.”

Lawrence expressed frustration that such an issue would not take place in a more affluent part of Dublin 15 such as Castleknock.

“As it stands we have a lot of balls in the air and we’re just hoping that one of them lands,” he said.

Castleknock councillor John Walsh has also criticised the Department of Education for letting St. Francis Xavier’s National School fall into a state of disrepair.

The Labour councillor recently visited the school, and said the conditions in the school were “shocking,” expressing disbelief that students and staff are expected to work in those conditions.

A recent survey found that there were 101 defects in the roof of the school.

A former student of the school, Walsh paid tributes to the staff who have to work in “the most unacceptable and difficult conditions,” but said it was now up to the Department of Education to step in and end the debacle.

“It is beyond belief that the Department of Education has failed to approve a full roof replacement for the school and continues to argue the toss over whether a patchwork job here and there might be sufficient.”

“This is shameful neglect of an absolutely vital school for the Coolmine, Glenville and Delwood area and shows a total indifference to the education of our children.’

He said he has written to Minister for Education Norma Foley to sort the issue, and said the Department of Education “needs to stop foot-dragging.”

He noted that the works could be carried out relatively quickly as the school has already applied for emergency works funding.

“The school secured new accommodation a few years ago but while this was originally meant to house two special classes for children with additional needs, it only had sufficient space for one special class,” he explained.

“It is scandalous at a time when new special classes for children with additional needs are desperately needed.”

 In recent weeks, Northside People has covered a number of issues with the Department of Education seemingly treating Dublin 15 in contempt.

Last week’s edition covered a number of parents protesting over the lack of school places for children with autism and other special needs, and a May article explored the plight of educational facilities in Dublin 15 being denied resources by the government.

Walsh said it was time for this practice to end.

“There is no excuse for more foot-dragging or making school leaders jump through more bureaucratic hoops. The mean and short-sighted approach of the Department of Education in this instance is utterly unacceptable and directly undermines the hard work of school leaders, teachers and staff.”

The state of local education and facilities for young people, always a major issue at local elections, is sure to be on voters’ minds on June 7th.