‘Roof won’t withstand another winter’

Sinn Féin councillor Colm Carthy has called for urgent repairs to the leaky roof at Inver College. The Carrickmacross secondary school is earmarked for a huge capital transformation that would see the ageing 1959 school building demolished and replaced with a modern extension.

But despite the ambitious project reaching ‘Detailed Design Stage’, the project failed to make it onto the Department's 2026-27 capital build list - meaning it remains in limbo until at least 2028.

Speaking at a meeting of the Cavan and Monaghan ETB, Cllr Carthy said the worsening state of the existing school could no longer be ignored.

The board previously heard how staff had been forced to place buckets in school hallways to catch rainwater pouring through the roof.

While welcoming the long-awaited redevelopment plans, Cllr Carthy said the roof urgently “needs patching”, while additional funding is required now to carry out a “proper job”.

According to Cllr Carthy, temporary repairs had effectively been kicked down the road because of the expectation that the long-promised new build project would soon proceed.

“We have to fix the roof,” he said. “We will not be able to withstand another winter like the one had.”

The proposed redevelopment remains one of the biggest planned for the region. The application submitted by the CMETB to Monaghan County Council outlined plans for a two-storey extension containing a Special Education Needs Unit, four specialist classrooms, two SET rooms and a large General Purpose Hall.

The extension alone will span 2,696 square metres, while further refurbishment works covering 252 square metres are planned within the existing school building to create three additional specialist classrooms.

The project also promises major upgrades to existing school infrastructure, including 60 bicycle parking spaces, redesigned drop-off areas, and 53 car parking spaces. Green energy measures are also included, with 35 south-facing solar panels proposed for the extension roof, allowing surplus electricity to be returned to the national grid.