Rundown school may be forced to close

THE roof is leaking, there are holes in the floor, the sewage pipes are broken, the heating doesn’t work - there is no money in the kitty.

As the Government goes shopping for a €40m executive jet, the principal of St Kieran’s Boys National School in Galvone on the south side of Limerick city, Kevin Haugh said he may be forced to close the school to its 135 pupils because it is too dangerous.

The school’s insurance company said it will be forced to pull its cover unless the school is renovated. But the Department of Education says there is no money available.

Same old story, said the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation.

INTO general secretary John Carr said it seems acceptable for the Government to be embarrassed about the state of its jet but not about the state of school buildings.

“The Health and Safety Authority and fire offices have been called in to many schools and money is the only solution. I don’t believe the public wants its five and six-year-olds enduring appalling school conditions.

“We can’t pretend that it is acceptable to have thousands of children receiving most of their education in temporary and rundown accommodation,” said Mr Carr.

Kevin Haugh said he is concerned for the safety of pupils.

“We’re lucky there have been no accidents, but I think it’s dangerous for the students and the teachers. The school has had to close three times already since last October because the heating system broke down,” he said.

A letter from the school’s insurers, Church & General, said the 30 year-old building was not safe.

“It is a meaningless exercise at this stage to list all the defects in the school, e.g. leaking sewers and plumbing, subsiding floors and yards. Suffice it to say that this building is not suitable for use as a school,” the company wrote.

Mr Haugh said parents are concerned about conditions but it is a matter for the board to decide what to do if they can’t insure the school. “All I can say is that nobody would drive their car without insurance.”

The school received a 20,000 grant this month from the Department of Education for health and safety improvements but the principal said this is barely enough to cover cleaning costs.

The department said no more funding is available for school capital improvements this year because of budgetary constraints.