This article is from page 14 of the 2006-11-21 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
EXPECTATIONS are high in Kinvara that a break in the current impasse concerning the planned closure of Seamount School College is imminent.
The college’s parents’ council met last night, November 20, and while nothing concrete emerged from the meeting, members of the council were hopeful that real progress was close at hand.
“We have submitted the facts and figures to the Department of Education last week and we are waiting for them to get back to us,” said a THE Citizens Information Service Pre-Budget Submission which was launched this week draws on issues raised in the Pre-Budget Forum held in July as well as the Social Policy Returns submitted by centres throughout the year.
According to Paul Woulfe, Manger of Citizens Information Centres in the county, the main focus of this year’s submission is on low-income families and related income support and service issues.
“The submission identifies key policy considerations relating to the experience of low-income families over the lifecycle in terms of equality of access to income and social services spokesperson for parents and teachers group, RESCUE.
The future of the school has been in jeopardy since the Sisters of Mercy announced that they would be winding down operations at the school over the next three years.
The group has been seeking a meeting with the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin, to see if her department could intervene and save the school.
RESCUE have also reiterated their call on the Sisters of Mercy to re-appoint the school’s Board of Management which was not ratified by the Sister’s at the start of the school year and links in with policy recommendations agreed in Toward 2016,” he explained.
Many of the queries to Citizens Information Centres focus attention on the complex difficulties faced by low-income families. The submission addresses income and service issues as they impact on low-income families with children, people with disabilities and older people in lowincome households.
Recommendations in the submission include targeted child income supports, FIS improvements, addressing welfare to work traps, community care services, cost of disability payment for people with in September.
The Sisters of Mercy had planned to put in place a manager to oversee the winding down of the school. But no appointment has yet been made. RESCUE have expressed their concern that if new students are not permitted to start at Seamount in September of 2007, it will be a mortal blow for the school.
At present, some 250 students from the Kinvara area attend the all-girls school.
The closest alternative schools, located at Gort and Oranmore, are already operating at full capacity. significant disabilities, payments to full-time carers and housing issues in relation to social housing provision, rent supplement and the exclusion of low-income earners from support. A number of concerns relating to administration of social services are also raised.
The Citizens Information Service has participated in the Pre-Budget Forum and also continues to make social policy returns on an ongoing basis to Comhairle, which provides the material for submissions and social policy reports.
The submission has gone into a number of Government departments.