Clarification sought on VEC school patronage

THE DEPARTMENT of Education is seeking “further clarification” from Galway’s vocational education committee on its patronage plans for the city’s first community primary school. This following concerns about the way parental support was canvassed.

Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn has already sanctioned a second Irish-medium primary school for one of the city’s largest suburbs, Knocknacarra, but has postponed final approval on its patronage pending the clarification, his department has confirmed.

The development comes as parents at the suburb’s only existing Irish-medium primary school, Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh, have pledged to seek a reversal of Mr Quinn’s recent decision to shelve their planned extension.

The growing suburb of Knocknacarra has two primary schools – Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh and St John the Apostle, both of which are Roman Catholic in ethos.

Four applications for patronage of a third school were submitted last year to the department – by City of Galway VEC, by the national Gaelscoileanna patron body An Foras Pátrúnachta, by the multidenominational patron Educate Together and by the Steiner national patron body Lifeways Ireland Ltd.

In its assessment, the department noted that Lifeways Ireland Ltd had not agreed to comply with all requirements, and that Educate Together had other schools in the catchment which were going to be extended – even though one of these two is over 3km away in an adjoining suburb, Newcastle, and the other is 15km away in the village of Claregalway in the north of the county.

It noted that City of Galway VEC had shown strong parental demand, while An Foras Pátrúnachta had not, but both proposed a multidenominational ethos and made the case for Irish-medium use.

However, it also recorded in its report that An Foras Pátrúnachta had raised questions about the city of Galway VEC application, as a letter seeking parental support for same had been sent out by a VEC secondary school which is due to move to Knocknacarra.

The letter sent from Coláiste na Coiribe secondary school sought expressions of interest from the proposed all-Irish City of Galway VEC primary, promising that “all students who have attended” it would have “automatic transfer rights to Coláiste na Coiribe”.

Fine Gael city councillor Pádraig Conneely, who is a member of the VEC, is seeking an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the issuing of the letter when there is already a Gaelscoil in the Knocknacarra area which is a feeder school for Coláiste na Coiribe.

Acting City of Galway VEC chief executive Tomás Mac Pháidín, who is on leave of absence from his position as principal in Coláiste na Coiribe, said that the letter was issued by the secondary school based on application addresses recorded for future years. It was not issued by the VEC, he said.

Meanwhile, Gaelscoil Mhic Amhlaigh’s case for an extension has been supported by all five Galway West TDs, two Senators and five councillors in the Galway city west ward, while over 3,000 people have signed a petition to have Mr Quinn’s decision to postpone work overturned.

The project to provide permanent classrooms for more than 200 children in the 450-pupil school was due to go to tender, having already received planning permission and specification approval by the department. It was dropped from the department’s list last month, however.

Concern has also been expressed by local politicians that extension plans for Scoil Náisiúnta Bhríde primary school in Lackagh, and Clifden Community School in Co Galway have been shelved.