Constitutional rights of children being denied in Kildare – Daly

Fine Gael General Election Candidate Cllr Richard Daly says that he believes that the constitutional rights of children have been denied to the tens of students who were refused places in our primary schools.

“The failure of the Department to provide adequate places in Newbridge last year meant that dozens of young children could not be accommodated in the primary schools. Deferring their entry has meant that parents had to make provision for childcare or preschool while they waited in vain for a place in the primary school to come on stream.” said Cllr Daly

“Over the past month I have encountered parents and educationalists who are extremely annoyed at the lack of school places for their children. The lack of places does not only apply to those who would have entered primary but also to several who could not access places throughout the primary system.

As another school year comes to an end parents once more face the lottery of school places in overcrowded classrooms.

Minister Hanafin has announced another primary school for Newbridge but neglects to mention that it is not a permanent building but “prefabs on a car park”. The location of the site in Rickardstown is so far from reality that planning permission for 14 prefabs has been applied for in the interim.

Parents and teachers will soon have the opportunity to send a message to Minister Hanafin about how they feel about the lack of educational resources in our county.” said Cllr Daly