Rest in Peace Dr Courtney
Search
05 Mar 2026
Search
05 Mar 2026
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!
Insight Architect's plan for the daycare and creche.
A new daycare and creche is planned in a Laois housing estate under construction in Portarlington.
The purpose built property with outdoor play and gardening area, is proposed to be built in the Bishopswood residential development of 97 houses, currently under construction.
Applicant Kevin O'Rourke has lodged an application with Laois County Council, seeking permission for a "new two storey creche and daycare centre, including outdoor play area, set down and parking areas, landscaping and boundary treatments, ancillary site services and all associated site works" in Bishopswood Road, Droughill, Portarlington, Co. Laois.
The housing development site is the subject of a current planning application which includes an increase to the size of the creche reservation area and a new internal road adjacent to the creche site.
Next door to the site, there is a separate planning application for 49 residential units.
The application notes that there are a number of existing childcare facilities operating in Portarlington.
"This proposed facility will provided additional childcare capacity for this growing town generally, but it is envisaged that much of the demand for services and future intake for this facility will come from the immediate residential development and its environs," a design statement says.
The centre will offer full and part-time day care, after-school services and sessional services.
The design will accommodate all children, to include all abilities, all individual needs or disabilities.
The building will be to an A-rated energy standard with a heatpump and solar panels. The design will have "an emphasis on promoting children’s development".
Read also: Major warning to visitors at Portarlington beauty spot
An outdoor area will have a playground with climbing equipment, swing and slide, a garden for planting and growing and an area for outdoor play and exploration, inside 2 metre fencing.
The application was received on May 9 and the planning decision is due by July 7 2025.
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.
