Cork Life Centre at stalemate with education department

Art Teacher Adam Conlon with student Caoimhe Cotter in the Cork Life Centre. Picture: Provision

The director of the Cork Life Centre has said the Department of Education does not understand or appreciate the centre’s work, and is attempting to supplant its current staff to “mainstream” the centre out of existence.

Life Centre director Don O’Leary described a series of departmental communications as “insulting, contradictory and speaking out of both sides of their mouths”, illustrating that the department does not respect the centre’s ethos or teaching model.