Contract signed for €37.5 million Monaghan Education Campus and Theatre.
Official signing of Contracts took place at 4.00 pm on Monday 15th August in the Westenra Arms Hotel Monaghan, with John Sisk & Son Ltd. who won the tender process to construct the new campus.
It follows the announcement on Friday by the Minister for Education & Skills, Ruairí Quinn, of approval to proceed with the €35 million Education Campus, the largest school building project in the State this year.
A state of the art theatre will also be built as part of the project and will be the new home of the Garage Theatre. The theatre facility will be grant-aided by the Department of Education & Skills and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltact. Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltact Jimmy Deenihan confirmed the grant from his department and said it would be ‘an important addition to the arts and cultural infrastructure in the border region’.
Minister Quinn said, “I want to congratulate Co. Monaghan Vocational Education Committee on the tremendous work involved in bringing this project to construction.”
“This is a shining example of where the local VEC has worked closely with my Department and the Gaelscoil to ensure delivery of a state of the art education campus for the benefit of all in the Monaghan area.”
“The benefits of working with people on a local level are clear in relation to the timeframes achieved with this project.”
The provision of three educational facilities on a 20 acre campus is in line with the Government view that shared campuses are the preferred model for future development of educational infrastructure in areas of demographic growth.
The campus will include new accommodation for a 16 classroom primary school (Gaelscoil Ultain), a 400 pupil post primary school (Gaelcholáiste Oiriall) together with a 700 student Institute of Further Education (Monaghan Institute), shared Sports Hall, playing pitches and car-parking facilities as well as the Theatre which will be available for use by all.
The speakers at the official signing of contracts event commended the CEO Martin O’Brien and his team, in particular Buildings Officer Veronica Feeney, for the dedication and determination in pushing the project forward to this point.
Stephen Oppermann, Architect of the project and Head of the Design Team, complimented Monaghan County Council (members and officials) for their support and co-operation in the planning process.
CEO, in his speech, thanked the Ministers, T.D.s and Councillors, past and current, for their support for the project and Monaghan County Council and Town Council for their co-operation and in particular for their financial commitment to the Theatre.
John Sisk & Son Ltd is the largest general contracting company in Ireland. The company has a proven track record in the Construction Industry and has worked with many of the worlds leading companies.
Construction is due to commence next month and it is planned that the Campus will be available for students in Winter Term 2012.