This article is from page 14 of the 2006-09-14 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
PRIMARY school principals across Ennis yesterday railed against the reliance by the Department of Education on prefabs to address continuing accommodation difficulties for students.
A Clare People survey of Ennis primary schools found that there are over 1,000 school children being accommodated in 44 prefabs in the town’s schools.
The survey found that there are currently 16 prefabs in place at Ennis National School, 11 in place at Cloughleigh National School, eight prebabs at Ennis Educate Together, seven in place at the CBS primary school and two at the Holy Family School, where planning has recently been secured for a third.
School principal of Ennis Educate Together, Sean O’Comfhaola, said yesterday, “The lack of planning for the education of children now and into the future is criminal.”
Mr O’Comfhaola said, “We are at this site since 1998 and have not made any progress for a new school. There are two sites zoned for school use in the Ennis Development, but they are not available.”
Mr O’Comfhaola was supported by INTO spokesman, Declan Kelleher. He said, “Anyone who would have witnessed the growing numbers enrolling in Ennis schools over the past 15 years would have seen the demands that were being placed on Ennis schools. Why weren’t these demands acted upon?”
He said, “Someone, somewhere in the planning of primary schools in Ennis, stands indicted. It should never have got to this and there is a huge amount of catching up to do as the Ennis area has been totally neglected.”
At the CBS primary school, there are seven prefabs in place and school principal Br Liam de Roiste said, “I believe, economically speaking and from a common sense and forward planning point of view, that the prefabs are a terrible waste of precious money. If we want the best education for our children, it should be done in proper buildings, not prefabs.”
School principal of Scoil Chriost Ri, Pat Hanrahan, said, “Half the staff at the school here are in prefabs. There is no question of building a new school on this site. The site was never adequate.”
As Mr Hanrahan was speaking, the school was taking delivery of another prefab for the coming school year. He said, “We are hopeful that the school will have a new school building on a new site in time for the 2010 school year.”