“Community has waited long enough” for planned campus, says Currie

Fine Gael TD Emer Currie has backed three local schools forming a new campus.

St. John Bosco Junior Boys National School, St. John Bosco Senior Boys National School and Mary, Help of Christians Girls’ National School have been stuck on the waiting list for school building improvements for years, with no sign of the changes being implemented.

Currie said that the idea of the three schools merging to form a new campus has major potential, but now it needs government support.

“These schools have served generations of families in communities on the Navan Road and in Ashtown with distinction, but the reality is that the school buildings have reached the end of their life,” she said.

“Parents, teachers, staff members and past pupils all say the same thing whenever I speak to them. These buildings are outdated, deteriorating and no longer provide the modern learning environment that their children and staff deserve,” Currie stated.

The Fine Gael TD noted that the three schools are “distinct,” but they share a “common vision.” 

“Rather than simply replacing the existing buildings, they have come together with an ambitious proposal to create one educational campus on the existing site,” she noted.

Currie said, “this project has the potential to be one of the most significant primary school developments in the state. However, the project has been stalled at stage 2a since 2024. It now needs real momentum because this is about more than bricks and mortar.”

The Dublin West TD said that local families are showing an appetite for the merger.

“Through my engagement with families across Dublin 7 and into Dublin 15, I know that many parents feel they have too few options when it comes to choosing schools. This is an area where single-sex provision dominates and many families have gone without the suitable option of co-educational schooling.”

She noted that a recent survey by the Department of Education backs her assertions. 

The survey examined educational provision through co-education, multidenominational provision, and through the medium of Irish. 

Some 73% of parents who responded across these three schools supported co-educational provision across Cabra, Phibsborough and Dublin 7, which is their school planning area. 

Support rose to almost 89% among households with children currently in primary school. 

Currie said, “the results are striking.”

In Mary, Help of Christians, 96 out of 140 respondents supported co-education. In St. John Bosco Senior Boys National School, it was 100 out of 131, which is 76%. In the junior national school, 46 out of 60 or 77% supported co-education.

Currie noted that the Department of Education intends to engage with boards of management to discuss the findings.

She said, “we have a real opportunity here. There is an appetite for change. That is not just clear in the survey but when I speak to families at their doors, which we are privileged to be able to do when we are canvassing.”

Independent junior Minister Marian Harkin explained the hold-up with the merger.

The stage 1 report was submitted in April 2023, and the stage 2a submission was submitted in January 2024. 

Harkin noted that from January 2024 to May 2025, there was “significant communication” between the design team and the Department to discuss and assist in progressing the stage 2a submission to include a review and audit of the floor area schedules to refine some design elements to meet the approved schedule of accommodation.

Department of Education officials visited the school in March, with further discussions taking place in June.

She explained that the school has until October to decide if they wish to be designated as a school with religious patronage.

Currie said that parents and students can’t afford to wait that long.

“This is not simply about replacing old buildings; this is about building a modern educational campus that reflects the needs and the wishes of the families in Dublin 7 and Dublin 15 for generations to come. The community has waited long enough,” she said.

“They deserve a modern school campus and the opportunity to shape the modern provision of education in their area.”

“Parents need reassurance today that the Department is ready, willing and able to work with them on providing a new building and that the building will be suitable for the type of education that they want their children to have.”