Wexford schools and roads included in €160 million capital investments – Kehoe

GOVERNMENT Chief Whip Paul Kehoe TD has welcomed an announcement this afternoon from Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn and Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Leo Varadkar TD that three Wexford schools and Wexford’s road network are included in a €160 million of Government capital investments.

The three Wexford schools included in this major investment are St Aidan’s in Enniscorthy, Colaiste Abbain in Adamstown and SN Mhuire in Barntown, they are among of 28 schools providing state-of-the-art classrooms and facilities for over 10,000 students nationally.

This news was also accompanied by a €50 million boost to repair regional and local road surfaces announced today by Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar as part of the Government’s Investing in Infrastructure & Jobs plan.

Speaking following the announcement Minister Paul Kehoe said:

“I’m delighted that these three schools are included in this allocation I have recently visited St Aidans in Enniscorthy and Colaiste Abbainn in Adamstown and I know important that this work is the teachers and parents in both schools. Extensive architectural planning is complete at the three schools and so they can progress quickly to tender and construction before the end of this year.

“These projects were not part of the Five Year Plan, they have continued to progress through architectural planning, and we are delighted to announce that additional funding means they can now proceed to tender and construction. We have always been clear that schools which were well advanced through the planning process would be best placed to benefit from any additional funding which becomes available – today underlines that message.

“I’m also very pleased that Minister for Transport, Leo Varadkar TD has also allocated a further €50 million for repairs and restoration of regional and local roads. Works will now be carried out in County Wexford this summer and autumn, as funding will be provided directly to Wexford County Council, which can start work on the repairs as soon as they receive the grants.

“I’m very conscious that two successive severe winters have taken their toll on the road network. While resources are limited, there is a risk that roads can deteriorate quite rapidly and are expensive to repair if repairs and maintenance are not carried out. This additional funding will help to address the shortfall in this area”.