STORM TRACKER: Follow 'Storm Amy' as it bears down on Ireland amid brutal forecast
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
A digger at the site for the new Kolbe Special School in Portlaoise.
Action is finally happening at the site of a Laois school site, to allow the builder to start work.
Kolbe Special School has gained an update from Laois TD Charlie Flanagan, which follows paperwork delays on the job to get electricity cables underground so that construction can start.
ESB Networks supplied the update on Wednesday, January 31, confirming that they will start moving cables this week on the last of two ESB lines still above ground.
“The duct proofing certs arrived from the Kolbe School contractor late last week.
“That has freed up the site for ESB to proceed with its work.
“Already, some of the equipment that ESB needs to complete the diversion was dropped onto site in the last 36 hours. Cable will start to be pulled from this Friday and all of the enabling works at the ESB sub and at the ESB kiosk on site is programmed to be completed in the next two weeks."
There is to be an electrical power outage for the final connection, with possible dates in mid February.
“Provisional dates for the outage to complete the work has been provisionally set for the 15th and 16th of February.“
The school principal Orlagh Mahon, and Parents Council representative Orlaith Kerrigan had requested the update.
Ms Kerrigan thanked the ESB in Portlaoise for prioritising the school.
"Parents are are very mindful that diverting a cable is a significant task and not undertaken lightly.
Dep Flanagan told the school "I remain in contact with the Department of Education and Officials regarding progressing this this matter as these works are an absolute priority for the planning and building unit."
It comes just a day after a previous update from Minister of State for Special Education Josepha Madigan, with pressure on to get construction of the urgently needed new school underway.
Kolbe teaches and nurses some 40 children with severe to profound special needs, in a small building that relies mostly on poorly insulated cramped prefab classes.
The new school is promised to be ready by September 2026, which means work on the 18month build would have to start in March.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
