The completion date of a shared education campus in Omagh has been pushed back to 2021.

Sinn Féin MP Barry McElduff has raised concerns about the delay to finishing the project.

He said: "This is indisputably an iconic project which will help to meet the best educational interests of many young people in the Omagh area for generations to come.

"There is strong political and community consensus around the development of six schools on a single site.

"It has been consistently identified as a Programme for Government (PfG) priority with ring-fenced capital funding.

"All schools involved have been committed and creative in helping to plan and design the project.

"Once a British Army Garrison and a symbol of division in the county town of Tyrone, the Strule site now offers an alternative vision of unity and great hope for the future.

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"I am seeking an imminent meeting with Department of Education officials for a full briefing on the procurement issues, which are said to have caused this delay."

Ulster Unionist Education Spokesperson Rosemary Barton said: "The wording of the excuse from the Department of Education is unusual. They say 'a number of important emergent issues' had led to a delay in the project. What does that mean and what are the consequences for the future development of this project and indeed others?

"The statement raises more questions than answers. This project has been in the Department of Education planning system for many years, and while I accept it is a major project and undertaking, it appears to have come up against many delays.

"It is nothing new for delay to be injected into new school builds. In Fermanagh Devenish College has waited over thirteen years since it was promised a new build. In the time since that commitment was given in 2004, three schools have amalgamated - Enniskillen, Duke of Westminster and Lisnaskea High Schools.

"I have written to the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Education asking for an explanation of the Strule Campus issue, but also for an update on the Devenish College proposed new build."

(CD/LM)