Campaigner will not stand in local elections

THE green light for the Cork School of Music may relieve some pressure on the Government with the withdrawal of campaigner Gerry Kelly from this summer’s local elections.

The music teacher at the school was at the helm of the campaign to get the project up and running and had planned to stand in all six city wards on the issue.

“There have been a lot of promises in the last year but we know it’s a done deal now, so I’m glad to be stepping down on the election,” Mr Kelly said last night.

He said the campaign received support around the country from people who saw it as a national issue about the recognition of the need for proper music education facilities.

As well as the election campaign, Mr Kelly had also planned to raise the issue internationally with the help of Irish musicians performing abroad, if the €60 million building did not go ahead.

But Mr Kelly gave credit to Health Minister Micheál Martin who first announced plans for a €10m extension to Cork School of Music in 1999. “He brought this to the top of the pile in the Department of Education when he was minister there and that has led to the announcement we’ve finally got today,” he said. Along with more than 60 other staff, Mr Kelly had been giving classes in Moore’s Hotel and a number of other inadequate facilities since the old school building was cleared in September 2001.

They had threatened not to teach in these unsuitable premises last autumn, but withdrew their industrial action after receiving assurances that progress would be made.

Teachers Union of Ireland president Derek Dunne said the decision was a reward for members’ vigorous campaigning, but the local colleges branch urged that work begin immediately.

“Our members and their students have endured appalling conditions over the past three years and, even in the best case scenario, face a further two years of disruption,” a branch spokesperson said.

David Stanton, East Cork TD and Fine Gael deputy education spokesperson, said yesterday’s announcement was not before time.

“It’s a shame that Mr Dempsey has continued to dodge this issue for so long and that he did not ensure this funding earlier so the school could have been up and running before the start of the Cork Capital of Culture year in 2005,” he said.