Updated 18:20

Pupils at the Tyrrelstown Educate Together School in Dublin have been invited to return to class from tomorrow.

In a statement this evening, the school said the Department of Education and a consultant engineering firm had passed the school safe to reopen.

It said a second health and safety assessment by Ahern Fire Engineering Consultants have passed the school as safe from a fire safety perspective.

It said some pupils will be staying at the school’s current premises while alternative arrangements have been made for others.

Students from 1st to 6th class will be bussed to the Hansfield Educate Together Secondary School for classes.

School principal Tim Stapleton thanked parents for their “support and patience at this very difficult and uncertain time for everyone involved” with the school.

“This is not a situation any of us asked for but the school community has really come together to do the best for the children in our care and we are delighted to welcome the children back,” he said

It comes after the adjacent St Luke’s National School said it would remain closed after parents raised concerns that it is still is not safe for children.

Parents of children attending St Luke’s National School in Tyrrelstown and the adjacent Tyrrelstown Educate Together School met with officials from the Department of Education, engineers and Gardaí earlier today.

Many expressed concerns about sending their children back – with a group announcing plans to protest outside the school tomorrow morning.

St Luke’s had aimed to open its ground floor tomorrow – and said that following a meeting with engineers it was “now satisfied that the ground floor is structurally sound.”

However, after considering the parent’s concerns, it said it will “not be in a position to open” until a second independent health and safety check has been completed, “and the works recommended therein have been implemented fully.”

File photo of damaged school buildings at Tyrrelstown Educate Together in Dublin, 06-11-2018. Image: Sam Boal/RollingNews

St Luke's said it has sourced alternative arrangements for senior pupils – who will be walked to the nearby Le Cheile building for class tomorrow morning.

The school noted that they will not be asked to enter the building but will “line up outside the school bike shed" before being ushered over to Le Cheile.

The school said it will inform parents of the expected start date for younger children as soon as all recommended safety works have been carried out.

School principle Vivienne Bourke said: “Once again, we thank you for your support in these difficult times and we thank the wider community for their co-operation.”

“We extend a special thanks to Le Cheile for accommodating our older pupils and look forward to the pupils return to education.”

Structural issues

Both schools have been closed since concerns were raised over the structural integrity of their buildings on October 24th.

Since then safety works have continued right through mid-term break and into this week, with builders remaining on site.

The ground floors have been strengthened with internal scaffolding and timber – however, parents remained unhappy with the condition of the buildings as a whole.

Meanwhile, the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) said its members were demanding reassurances that their workplaces are safe.