A DUBLIN PRIMARY school that was facing closure due to “massive underfunding” will remain open following intervention from the Department of Education. 

Sacred Heart Junior School in the Killinarden area of Tallaght said last week that it would no longer have the money “to pay our basic bills” from 1 April

In a letter to parents, principal Orla McLoughlin outlined what she described as the school’s “major financial crisis”.

She warned that the school “will have to close” and “teach remotely” if it did not receive emergency funding.

It was today announced that the Department has issued an early payment of the Capitation Grant to help the school. 

This grant is paid to primary and voluntary secondary schools and is based on the number of pupils enrolled in the schools.

The capitation grant due in June will now be paid before the end of the week to alleviate immediate cash flow issues.

The school is also engaging with the Financial Support Services Unit (FSSU) to assess its financial position. 

The FFSU is funded by the Department of Education and supports boards of management within schools in complying with their financial responsibility for State and other funding. 

In a statement today, local Fianna Fáil TD John Lahart added that the Department has requested further details from the school to “ensure appropriate and targeted support can be provided”.

He also said that the Department is maintaining “direct contact with the school and the patron to ensure continued financial stability”.

Lahart remarked that the Department is “acting quickly to secure the school’s future” and that the early grant payment and “financial oversight will provide much-needed stability for students and staff”.

While Lahart acknowledged that a “medium to long term plan is required”, he expressed “hope that these moves will help to ease the stress, anxiety and concerns that have been caused this week”.

Speaking today, People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy described the financial issues facing the school as “incredible”.

He said the issue, within a school in his constituency, “presented a huge crisis for all of the pupils, families, and in particular for the children with additional needs”.

He said the issue was due to a lack of funding.

“The debts are mounting up, and they effectively can’t afford to keep the lights on, to keep the building heated.

“They’ve been in touch with the Department over a number of months, highlighting the shortfall in terms of funding and appealing for extra funding to be given,” said Murphy. 

Murphy said that these appeals initially “fell on deaf ears” and cautioned that the advance payment of the Capitation Grant “doesn’t deal with the underlying issue and just kicks the can down the road”.

He criticised the “lack of funding for a school in one of the most deprived communities in the country”. 

Murphy said he will raise the issue in the Dáil and that it is “particularly outrageous when you contrast it with the funding that is made available to private schools”.

“What Sacred Heart needs is a few tens of thousands of euros to remain open, and so far that funding has not been made available,” said Murphy.