17 November 2015
By Bryan Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Speaking following the government announcement of a programme of capital investment in schools, Sinn Féin Education Spokesperson Deputy Jonathan O’Brien (from Cork North Central) said the announcement was welcome, but the Government must ensure that these schools are adequately resourced in terms of teaching staff and that the Minister moves with the programme of divestment so that all children will be able to attend these schools on an equal basis.
The Cork North Central TD said:
“Sinn Féin welcomes the programme of capital investment in schools despite the Minister’s blatantly obvious auction politics approach to the moves.
“All of these developments could have taken place in the last five years, but didn’t.
“Many of these projects have been previously announced and the Labour Party are seeking to capitalise on this.
“We are calling on the government to provide more detail on the plan including what the pupil teacher ratio will be in the new schools and the redeveloped schools. Redeveloped schools will not be much use if they are overcrowded.
“We are also calling on the Minister to ensure that the new schools have a patronage system in place that does not allow for children to be discriminated against on the basis of religion.”
