Staff at Cork school 'teaching in cupboards', TD tells Education Minister

The Dáil heard there is rising demand for places at the Fermoy Educate Together school which was established under the patronage divestment process

Minister for Education Norma Foley said Fermoy Educate Together National School would remain a four-classroom school until additional accommodation became available.

Something must be done to relieve the pressure on a Cork school where staff are "teaching in cupboards", a Cork TD has said.

David Stanton raised the issue of Fermoy Educate Together with Minister for Education Norma Foley in the Dáil saying there is no space for students and teachers in the existing building.

"They are teaching in cupboards and working in very small rooms that are way below the statutory requirements for classrooms nowadays," he said.

Having visited the school in recent weeks after a number of parents raised the issue with him, Mr Stanton said that while there is a good atmosphere there and the teachers are doing a good job with what they have, a disservice is being done to the children.

The Fine Gael TD, who taught at the school himself 46 years ago, has asked for interim measures such as portable buildings to be put in place to address the problem in the short-term.

Consideration to the long-term future of the school is also essential as there is increasing demand for places at the school which was established in 2018 under the patronage divestment process.

"Things have moved on now and parental choice is coming in here in a big way. There is a big demand in the area for this particular school as it is a very successful and popular school," he said.

Ms Foley made the point, on a number of occasions, that when the school was inaugurated six years ago, there was an agreement signed up to by the patron of the Educate Together school to cap numbers with a limit of 13 enrolments in Junior Infants each year. 

Educate Together said the current accommodation is insufficient for a four-classroom school.

This agreement was to remain in place and it would remain a four-classroom school until additional accommodation became available. Educate Together told the Irish Examiner that it is not seeking to expand beyond the four-classroom size. 

However, it said the current accommodation is insufficient for a four-classroom school. While they managed in the school's early stages, there is not enough space to allow it to grow to its sanctioned size.

"In addition, the school has recently been sanctioned to open a special class to cater for autistic pupils, but is unable to do so because of insufficient space," a spokesperson for Educate Together said. 

A technical assessment has been carried out and Ms Foley said the department will continue to engage with the school as this is evaluated.