Schools out - Time for Minister to get tough

Before going to Limerick today to discuss the failure of some secondary schools to enrol local children, Minister for Education Noel Dempsey indicated that he is prepared to listen, but he will be taking a definite stand.

Sixteen children are being denied access to secondary schools because there is supposedly no room for them. Some of those have been out of school for more than a year, which is an outrage. By law they are required to attend school until they reach the age of sixteen.

Minister Dempsey emphasised that there is “no doubt” that there are sufficient second level places in Limerick to accommodate the sixteen students. Five years ago there were 9,000 second-level students in the area and this is now down to little over 7,000. Consequently, there is obviously more than enough room.

The Minister said he was going to Limerick to ensure that the same thing does not happen again next year. If necessary, he added, he would not hesitate to invoke regulations under the Education Act to require the enrolment of those students.

Presumably he was talking about taking that action now, without further delay.

There should be no question of waiting until next year, because this is a problem that should have been resolved last year.