School staff furious at TD for ‘scurrilous remark’
There was a furious reaction after Mr O’Keeffe suggested the plasterboard falling on children at St Nessan’s Primary School was an accident waiting to happen and could have been prevented by the school authorities.
Children were crying and their teacher was upset when two plaster boards dislodged and fell in the prefab building at the school in Mungret, Co Limerick, while classes were taking place last month.
According to Minister for Education Noel Dempsey, the wrong nails being used in the roof of the prefab was to blame for the accident in which a number of pupils narrowly escaped injury.
But at the Oireachtas Education Committee meeting on Thursday, Mr O’Keeffe said the school became part of a sketch on RTÉ with David Hanly and was very good drama with politicians coming on the radio.
Stating that the two plasterboards were threatening to fall for some time, the Cork East TD asked the minister what obligations there are on boards of management, principles and head teachers to see that a school is safe and kept in order.
“I have said boards and plasterboards don’t fall overnight, it threatens for a while and many of us live in houses and homes where they have to be repaired.
“I think it went over the top a bit and I would say it makes good politics for the opposition to get involved in issues of that nature,” he said.
Labour Party education spokesperson Jan O’Sullivan intervened asking was he suggesting the school deliberately arranged for the ceiling to fall.
Responding to Mr O’Sullivan’s challenge, Mr O’Keeffe was unrepentant saying he was asking the question and wanted the minister to respond to it.
But Mr O’Sullivan said this was a scurrilous suggestion to make against staff at the school.
St Nessan’s INTO representative Gerry O’Sullivan said Mr O’Keeffe’s statement was unbelievable.
“We wouldn’t be in there if we thought the roof was going to come down. I can’t believe a TD would make such a comment.”
