Resources ‘swiped’ from Tuam primary school

A primary school in Galway, where 76% of its pupils face educational disadvantages, has been hit with savage cuts over the last seven years.

“We’ve 380-plus pupils, 30% foreign national, 26% Traveller, and approximately 20% who would have huge socio and economic disadvantages,” says Mary O’Mahony, a teacher in the school.

“We lost three resource teachers for Travellers and we lost two teachers for children with English as a second language, we lost the visiting teacher for Travellers and then 15% of the resource hours that were allocated are gone as well.