30 October 2020
By Mary Bermingham
mary@TheCork.ie
Cork City Labour Cllr John Maher, Local Area Reps Ciara Kennedy and Peter Horgan have said that Cork schools are being massively left down by the Department of Educaiton forcing students to bring in their own sanitiser.
Peter Horgan (Labour)“There are huge questions to answer on this basic PPE provision by the Department,” said Cllr Maher.
“How many more withdrawals of products needs to happen before someone in the Department shouts stop? What was the medical impact of these sanitisers before now?”
Ciara Kennedy said:
“The timelines of these announcements give little confidence to school Communities and places further pressure on principals and school administrators on their mid term to clear stock and find replacement. It just doesn’t seem that much respect is being given to school communities.”
Peter Horgan Warned that notices for parents to provide their own sanitiser could lead to another run on products.
“We saw the bulk buying that happened on Sanitiser back in March. My fear is that if schools begin to request parents and students to bring in their own supply then there will be another run on supply and panic buying. The Department needs to communicate to schools that proper PPE is available to them and it is safe.”
