This article is from page 16 of the 2008-01-01 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
AGAINST the background of the school water charges row, Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has highlighted the growing crisis of consultant fees for Summer work schemes which are owed by many schools throughout the country.
According to the Clarecastle dep- uty, who is Fine Gael Spokesperson on Juvenile Justice, the latest crisis arose when the Department of Edu-
cation decided to discontinue the summer school works scheme with- out consulting the schools.
The scheme allowed schools to carry out essential works during the summer holidays. In order for schools to apply for the scheme, it was necessary to hire a consultant engineer to prepare submissions. If the application was successful, the consultant’s fees were reimbursed through the scheme.
The situation many schools find
themselves in is that having hired consultants and paid out significant fees, the scheme has been cancelled and the fees remain outstanding. Deputy Carey said it was another example of the Government taking decisions with little regard for the implications of these decisions on the day-to-day running of schools. ‘“T have contacted several schools, who find themselves owing hundreds of euro in consultant fees, with no obvious means to pay for those fees.
One Clare school I spoke to owes over €650, while another owes in the region of €800. Coming at the same time as schools face outrageous wa- ter charges, this is unacceptable. ‘The department set out stringent guidelines for the summer work schemes which required schools to engage consulting engineers in order to be considered under the scheme. They have now cancelled the scheme, but schools abiding by the department’s own rules are out
of pocket significantly.”
Are our schools to foot the bill for the downturn in the economy’?
“IT understand the INTO are pres- ently surveying all schools in the country to find out how many schools have already paid out for consultant fees for projects. I expect them to find that the country’s schools are carrying a huge burden of debt for essential works that may not now even be carried out because of this crazy decision,” he declared.