Statement from Department of Education on Storm Lorenzo

A status orange wind warning has been issued by Met Éireann for Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Limerick and will be in place from 6pm on Thursday to 3am on Friday morning.

Schools and all education centres (universities, IoTs and further education centres)  in areas affected by a status orange alert should remain vigilant, and keep themselves appraised of any hourly and other updates from Met Éireann, and from their local authorities, local radio, and an Garda Síochána. 

In all events, and if in any doubt, schools and other education settings should err on the side of caution. Schools are empowered to make closure decisions if, in their judgment in the interests of the safety of the school community, it is prudent to do so. Any and all decisions about school closures will be informed by, as well as prevailing and predicted conditions, any damage that might have been caused to school buildings overnight or at any time during the storm, and whether such damage –where it exists – might present a risk to safety. 

Similarly other education settings should make closure decisions based on those considerations.

Source: education.ie

In the meantime, according to RTE Twenty-two schools, built by Western Building Systems, are to undergo special inspections by engineers later today in advance of Storm Lorenzo.
The schools have protective structures such as scaffolding and fencing in place after serious structural defects were discovered in their walls over the summer.
They include the latest batch of WBS constructed schools where defects were discovered.

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