THE Principal of a Northside school is hoping that an imaginative campaign for a long-awaited new school eventually has the desired effect.
When Minister for Education and Skills, Richard Bruton, visited Gaelscoil Cholmcille in Santry, he was met with a Hollywood-style initiative.
The parents’ committee erected three billboards at the entrance to the school to highlight their ongoing campaign with the Department.
The school has been operating in temporary accommodation since it was founded 22 years ago.
The billboards spelt out a message as Gaeilge to Minister Bruton: ‘22 YEARS WAITING’, ‘STILL WITHOUT A PERMANENT SCHOOL BUILDING’, ‘WHY, MINISTER?’
The billboard installation coincided with a visit to the school by the Minister and Stevie the Robot, a high tech prototype robot designed to work in assisted care facilities and help the elderly and people living with disability in Ireland.
The team behind the robot is led by Assistant Professor in Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering at Trinity College Dublin, Conor McGinn. However, due to the lack of a suitably sized assembly hall for the school, only three classes from eight were able to meet the robot leading to a “large number of very disappointed students”.
Principal of Gaelscoil Cholmcille, Sandra Ní Gharbháin, told Northside People: “Over two decades have passed since the school was founded in 1996 and despite pledges of support from numerous politicians over the years, the páistí of Gaelscoil Cholmcille still find themselves in a temporary building that is no longer fit for purpose.
“We hope the billboard initiative will put Gaelscoil Cholmcille back onto the Department of Education’s agenda.” A spokesperson for the Department of Education and Skills told Northside People: “Gaelscoil Cholmcille is accommodated in a semi-permanent building provided in 2008 that has an expected lifespan of 25 to 30 years. There is a significant surplus of primary school capacity in the school’s planning area and the Department’s main responsibility is to ensure that schools in an area, can between them, cater for all pupils seeking places in an area.”