Parents ‘should foot bill for traffic wardens’

PARENTS and schools should foot the bill, or take on the responsibility themselves, of providing school wardens, a city councillor said last night.

Fine Gael Cllr Des Cahill was responding after figures showed that cash-strapped Cork City Council spent €596,200 last year on wages for its team of almost 40 lollipop ladies who help thousands of children cross busy roads outside 38 city schools.

It spent a further €3,800 on their uniforms and laundry.

Mr Cahill said the bill for providing the service in Cork city shows that nationally, local authorities are forking out millions.

“We are facing into a budget today where local authority funding will be further cut. Local authorities just don’t have the money anymore. The days of getting things spoon-fed are over,” Mr Cahill said.

“Those who have provided the school warden service to date have provided a great service.

“I’m not saying the service isn’t needed. Of course the service is needed but now it should be a matter of who provides it.”

The school warden bill is one of dozens of areas of public spending which are coming under increasing pressure as local authorities prepare their 2011 budgets.

Mr Cahill said most schools have very active parents’ associations who could take on the responsibility of providing the service. “I’m sure that if it was put to them, most would take it upon themselves to do it. How they chose to do that is up to them,” he said.

He suggested parents, or even teachers, could take it upon themselves, after securing Garda clearance and proper training, to provide the service, or could fundraise to employ wardens.

In October, it emerged one Cork city school had been left without a school warden for the first time in over 40 years because of the public service recruitment ban.

The school’s new warden was on sick leave and the Government’s public service recruitment ban prevented the council from advertising for a replacement.

Meanwhile, six city schools have been selected to pilot a reduced speed limit zone project.

The limit will be reduced from 50km/h to 30km/h within a 500-metre radius of each school.

It will be in force Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm, including school holiday periods.

The overall aim of the project is to encourage school children to walk or cycle to school.

The schools selected to take part in the pilot are Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh, Bishopstown; Nagle Community College, Mahon; North Monastery Secondary School, North Monastery Road; Scoil Barra Naofa, Beaumont; St Brendan’s and St Mark’s, The Glen and Sunday’s Well, NS, Blarney Road.