Wicklow by the Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairi Quinn, TD to
open two schools for County Wicklow VEC on Monday, 30th April, 2012 as
amusing, bemusing and hypocritical all at the same time. One of the
schools Gaelcholáiste Na Mara, Pearses Park, Arklow which is to be
officially opened by the Minister has in fact been open since 2007, so
the Minister is five years too late.
Sinn Féin county councillor John Brady who has described the Ministers
visit as amusing, bemusing and hypocritical all at the same time
stated "The news that the Minister for Education and Skill, Ruairi
Quinn, TD is to visit Wicklow to officially open a school which in
fact has been opened since 2007 is ridiculous, and it comes in the
same week when parents and pupils from another Wicklow school Coláiste
Ráithín which is located in Bray staged a protest outside the
Ministers office in an attempt to secure a new school after 14 years
of campaigning. What the Ministers visit does show is how desperate
this government actually is to find a good news story, the fact that
they must go through the archives to find a school that's 5 years old
to officially open stinks of desperation. What next will we have? the
Minister for Marine Simon Coveney officially launching the Titanic"
Cllr Brady continued "I would ask Minister Quinn while he is in
Wicklow to meet with the parents committee of Coláiste Ráithin in the
Portacabins on the Florence Road in Bray that are used as classrooms
and to try end their 14 year campaign for a new purpose built school.
This Minister along with previous ministers are well aware of their
plight of the school as they handed a letter to Ruairi Quinn outlining
their situation on Wednesday last and they plan another protest
outside Leinster House this coming Wednesday. I have also written to
the Labour Minister asking him to resolve the issue of the site for
the new school for Coláiste Ráithín which is on the Old Bray Golf Club
lands and to then fast track the project. The 14 year struggle to
progress the project of a new school is having a detrimental impact on
the school and its capability to continue providing the excellent
standard of education to their pupils. The land ear marked for the new
school is held by NAMA, i have also written to the chairperson of NAMA
Frank Daly and asked him to deal directly with Minister Quinn to
unlock the site for Coláiste Ráithín to allow the new school project
proceed. As of yet i have no response from either parties"
Cllr Bray concluded "The Labour Minister must cease trying to grab
cheap headlines on what are old stories. The bottom line is there are
no good news stories for Minister Quinn or this government, he is
currently the Minister for Education which is cutting special needs
teachers, cutting career guidance teachers, attacking small rural
schools, increasing class sizes, slashing student grants and
increasing college fees. If the Minister is sincere in trying to
provide the best educational facilities for pupils in Wicklow he
should start by investing in the educational needs of them and not be
engaging in the type of political spin and stunts that we seen for
years under Fianna Fáil"
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