Major £14 million scheme at Dean Maguirc College remains ‘paused’

A £13.9 million investment for long-awaited development works at Dean Maguirc College in Carrickmore remains paused almost a year after there was widespread ‘disappointment’ over a delay to the project.

Work on the major enhancement to the school was among those paused in May 2023.

There was also a delay to work at St Ciaran’s College in Carrickmore costing £25.4 million.

Development schemes at both schools, as well as others locally, are seen as vital and long overdue.

Now Education Minister, Paul Givan, has said that the project at Dean Maguirc College remains ‘paused.’ He was speaking during a debate on educational capital development in the Stormont Assembly on Monday.

He added that he had moved the Dean Maguirc College and other schemes into his ‘conventional capital budget’.

“That move provides reassurance for those schools that their projects will continue to be taken forward as part of my major conventional capital programme,” he added.

At the time, it was announced that the scheme for Dean Maguirc was being delayed. A spokesperson for the Department of Education said a decision would be taken on a ‘case-by- case’ basis as to whether schemes would progress to construction, and that this would be dependent on funding becoming available.

Mr Givan said that, in addition to Dean Maguirc College, a scheme for Drumragh Integrated College is at the design stage, and that St Catherine’s Primary School in Strabane had an approved business case and was at the concept design stage.

He also said that the recent allocation of £150 million to the Strule Shared Education Campus would allow that project to start, subject to a full business case proceeding. But he added that further money would also be needed for the campus project, which will see the five post-primary schools in Omagh town centre moving to the new site at the former Lisanelly army barracks.

Mr Givan was responding in the Assembly to a request from West Tyrone MLA, Maoliosa McHugh, for an update on school building schemes in the constituency.