‘Urgent action’ needed to open schools next week

PARENTS will still be unsure on Sunday if schools can open next week unless the Government takes urgent action to make roads safe, a teachers’ leader has warned.

About half the country’s 4,000 schools did not reopen after Christmas holidays yesterday morning because of the cold weather and dangerous road conditions. Most schools in Donegal and Kerry stayed shut and hundreds more in various parts of the country also kept their doors closed, either because of problems with heating systems, burst pipes or unsafe roads in rural areas.

The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) said it was known for weeks that an emergency response to the weather would be required but the Government’s inept response made the widespread closure of schools inevitable.