Plans to open two of three new schools built by collapsed UK company Carillion have received a setback with confirmation that the buildings have yet to received safety and standards certification.
One of the schools, Coláiste Ráithín, in Bray, Co Wicklow, was due to admit students into its new school building tomorrow for the first time.
However, certification to confirm that the facility has been built to the proper standard and is safe has not yet been received.
School principal Traolach Ó Maolchathaigh has told RTÉ News that the school hopes to open to all students next Monday instead.
He says the school had hoped to have certification completed by Friday but that minor pieces of work had yet to be completed.
Mr Ó Maolchathaigh says certifiers have been onsite this afternoon and that they are very confident that work would be completed and passed.
The school informed parents of the delay this afternoon.
Under Irish building regulations it is up to the owner of the building, which in this case is an international consortium of which Carillion was a part, to provide certification to the local council.
The Department of Education has confirmed that certification for a second school has also not yet been received.
Ravenswell Primary School, whose new school building is adjacent to Coláiste Ráithín, was also constructed under the Carillion consortium.
However Ravenswell will open as planned this Wednesday in its current school building.
The Department said that certification for Coláiste Ráithín is "targeted for this week, with Ravenswell Primary to follow shortly thereafter".
Certification for a third school, Loreto Secondary school in Wexford town, has been received and students are due to start there on Thursday.
Some subcontractors and suppliers, who completed work or installed goods at the schools, have not provided certification for the works that they have completed, because they have not been paid.
Last week the Construction Industry Federation expressed concern that the buildings would be certified as up to standard without input from these unpaid subcontractors.
However, the Department of Education has said that relevant documentation for the majority of construction works had been received before the projects were halted by the collapse of Carillion.
The collapse of Carillion was followed by the collapse of Irish construction company Sammon, which was directly overseeing work on the schools.
In a statement to RTÉ News the Department said that the contractor that replaced Sammon was required to carry out all necessary due diligence to ensure that certification could be issued for any work that was outstanding.
