THESE are particularly anxious times for parents: on one hand we have schools being forced to close due to safety concerns; on the other, we have a shortage of places for students who are about to start their secondary education.
In my local area, there has been unprecedented demand for secondary school places. Sixth class pupils who would have automatically gained entrance in previous years have been put on a waiting list with over 100 others. Last week, parents and students affected by the crisis at St Joseph’s Secondary School in Rush held a protest outside the Dáil to highlight their situation.
This same school has been promised a badly-needed new building for years, with no visible sign of progress. Despite operating in conditions that are far from ideal, it is to the credit of the principal, teachers and the students themselves that the school has enjoyed academic success over the years and plays a central role in the community.
It is a damning indictment of the Government’s lack of foresight when students and parents have to protest for the right to be educated in their local schools. Thousands of new homes were built in the area during the Celtic Tiger era, but there was seemingly little thought given over to where all these families were going to send their children to school.
Securing a place in school should not be a lottery – but in some cases it literally is.
Meanwhile, there were echoes of the housing boom last week as a number of schools were shut over safety concerns, with further inspections planned across the city. As investigations got underway, the Department of Education faced serious questions about the oversight and regulation of the building work carried out on its behalf.
The eventual end result of the blame game will be of little comfort to the parents of the affected students, who had to make unexpected childcare arrangements or take time off work at very short notice. It will be a worrying midterm break for them as alternative educational options for their children are sought.
It is disturbing, however, that State-funded building projects are now under the spotlight over safety concerns. Have we learned nothing from the pyrite scandal that caused endless misery and hardship for householders? Have we forgotten the Priory Hall debacle, where residents were forced to leave their fire-trap apartments due to shoddy building work and light touch regulation?
In this country, it seems that history has a terrible habit of repeating itself.