This article is from page 18 of the 2013-09-03 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 18 JPG
THERE have been calls for the Government to assist families with the cost of transporting children to the new Ennis National School.
The new school at Ashline opened its doors for the first time to pupils last week. The school was previously located at a site on the Kilrush Road closer to the town centre.
In a motion due to be discussed at yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town Council, Cllr Michael Guilfoyle urged the council to contact the Minister for Education and the Minister for Finance to allocate a grant to assist families, that are being asked to pay to transport children to the new school.
Cllr Guilfoyle said, “A lot of families now have an extra journey to make and I think the Departments should make some contribution to the cost of travelling to the school.”
The future of the former site of Ennis National School is unknown though it has been earmarked as a potential site for a major town centre retail development in the future.
In a submission to Clare County Council, Ennis Parish, the owners of the site, say it would be an ideal location for the future development of a commercial retail centre. Prepared by engineering firm Paddy Coleman and Associates, the sub- mission states, “It is their opinion that Proposal Site PS1 is ideal and should be promoted by the council through the Ennis and Environs Development Plan to cater for the identified retail deficiency. It is stated that they own part of the said site (the land associated with the Boys National School) and that the land will be available in the short term when it is vacated for the new school currently under construction at Ashline.” Supermarket giant Aldi have also emerged as potential purchasers of the site after signalling their intent to develop a second store in Ennis. However Cllr Guilfoyle says residents on the Kilrush Road would have concerns about any potential development in the area. He explained, “It seems it has been earmarked for a shopping centre. That may be a good bit down the line, if it happens, but I would have concerns. And there are people living there in peace for a long time that would have concerns about it.”