TAOISEACH ENDA Kenny had eggs thrown at his car when he visited a school in Co Donegal yesterday.
The Fine Gael leader was met by a group of more than 60 anti-austerity protesters outside Loreto Community College in Milford.
Mr Kenny was visiting the school to present €150,000 worth of computers to pupils who won them in a national competition.
One of the eggs struck Mr Kenny’s car as he arrived at the school. Another was thrown at his car but missed as he left an hour later.
The incident was condemned by staff at the school, but no official comment was made.
One staff member said it was “disgraceful” that the Donegal Action Against Austerity had chosen to protest outside a school on what should have been a day of celebration.
However, the leader of the protest group, Micheal Mc Giolla Easpaig, defended the decision to carry out the protest. He said: “It was our duty to be here, and it is our duty to tell Enda Kenny that the people of Donegal will not be silenced.
“Mr Kenny is pushing through cuts and it will be the young people of this country who will end up paying for them for generations to come,” he said.
Despite the protests, most of the noise was made by several hundred pupils, who gave Mr Kenny a warm welcome. All first-year pupils at the school will now get laptop computers after an entry by 5th year pupil Shaun Sweeney won the SmartClass competition, organised by Intel, the Education Company of Ireland and Steljes.
Nobody was arrested in relation to the egg-throwing and the Garda refused to comment on the matter.
Earlier, Mr Kenny had refused to meet the protesters, saying Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar and Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald had met the group recently. “I couldn’t meet them today because of the schedule and I’m sorry I couldn’t but they have met two Ministers and there may be a chance to meet these people in the future,” he said.