Clogher school told it won’t be getting its new £1.4m dining hall

A £1.4m project to build a new dining hall at a Clogher primary school has been ‘paused’, the Education Minister has revealed.

For years, pupils at St Macartan’s Primary School have had to sit in the assembly hall to eat their lunch.

Three years ago, the Department of Education approved the construction of a new dining/multi-purpose hall at the school, costing a total of £1.4m.

However, Education Minster Paul Givan has now said the work will not proceed because of a ‘very constrained’ budget.

It is a huge blow for pupils, staff and parents at the school, which first opened in 1933 and has 136 pupils.

The news about the dining hall plans being ‘paused’ emerged at Stormont this week following a question to the Education Minister from Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA Colm Gildernew.

The Sinn Fein representative asked Mr Givan for a ‘timeline of actions’ his department had taken in relation to the new proposed dining facilities at St Macartan’s PS.

In response, the Education Minister said the Clogher school had submitted applications under the 2011 ‘Minor Works Call’ for refurbishment to the ‘school meals servery’.

In its application, the school had said the work would ‘address the inadequate size of the school meals dining hall and stores’.

Mr Givan said: “The works were shortlisted to be taken forward by the Education Authority (EA) under the Strategic Investment in School Meals Accommodation (SISMA) programme.

“In May 2021, it was agreed that the Department would contribute the additional construction cost to the SISMA scheme to deliver a 160m2 dining/multi-purpose hall, instead of the 80m2 dining facility.

“The Business Case was approved in April 2022 at a total cost of £1.4m and in March 2023 approval was given to go out to tender.

“However, in October 2023, the EA informed the Department that the project had been paused due to budget and priorities.

“The EA has confirmed that this project remains paused due to a very constrained capital budget position.”