Sligo Councillors united in frustration as local schools omitted from Government’s priority building programme

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

The fallout from the recent announcement that no Sligo school has been included in the Government’s two year priority building programme continued this week at the monthly meeting of Sligo County Council.

An emergency motion submitted by Cllr Fergal Nealon calling on the local authority to write to the Minister of Education regarding the inclusion of the Ursuline College, Gaelscoil Chnoc na Ré and Grange Post Primary School.

Rules regarding the submission of motions meant it could only be tabled as an emergency motion as there had been a similar motion tabled within the allowed six month window by Cllr Marie Casserly.

Addressing the meeting Cllr Nealon said he had been in contact with Gaescoil Chnoc na Ré principal Liz McSharry and subsequently visited the school saying, “I couldn’t believe it is as bad as it is.”

The meeting heard that children wear jackets and gloves in school until the classrooms warm up sufficiently. Cllr Nealon said issues with the facilities mean the children are getting an education in electricity and plumbing and also botany as a result of the plants and fungi that are growing within the school.

Cllr Nealon noted the school doesn’t have any corridors meaning children and staff go straight from the classroom into inclement conditions.

"It is too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer. It’s an absolute disgrace this isn’t included. This has to be an anomaly and a massive oversight. This particular school is third world standard.”

Cllr Marie Casserly was also critical of the decision not to include any Sligo schools on the list saying, “After all the lobbying and emails, it is absolutely shocking that not one Sligo school is on that list. Ten schools from Co Galway tells its own story.”

Cllr Casserly noted planning permission in respective of the Ursuline College is running out with €2m having been spent to date which she described as “A complete waste of money,” adding, “They cannot apply for funding for repairs to the old part of the building.”

Hitting out at the decision making process, Cllr Casserly said, “I don’t see any transparency at all. I want to see a list of the schools that are on the list for the last 10 years. That list should not change, it should be a matter of priority.”

She noted “Coola is creaking at the seams” and St Edward’s Ballytivnan is “Struggling to provide space for the local community.”

Cllr Casserly concluded by asking, “What is the criteria when the Heads of Department sit down and decide how they work it out? It is really important support comes from this chamber.”

Cllr Michael Clarke was critical of the local Government TDs saying, “The Junior Ministers have failed to deliver. What addition are they?” He added, “The Irish language will die unless it gets the support it deserves.”

Cllr Tom MacSharry noted that a meeting has been scheduled in the next week with the Minister for Education and called on his Council colleagues to “use their voice” when speaking with the local TDs.

Cllr MacSharry added, “The unfortunate thing about politics in this country is when you have a Minister you get things delivered.”

Cllr Thomas Walsh revealed he spoke with Minister for Education Hildegarde Naughton “at length” on Saturday last stating, “She is very clear, she doesn’t have the budget to fund additional schools. If we had a Senior Minister we probably would have got funding for four schools.”

Cllr Walsh noted that both the Ursuline and the Gaelscoil are shovel ready projects. He added that he invited the Minister to visit the Ursuline College and "She was open to that.”

Cllr Joe Queenan also expressed his frustration at the omission of Sligo schools saying, “The focus should be to cut out the red tape.” He added, “It’s the whole system that is wrong, unless we change at national level we will be back again.”

Cllr Declan Bree was critical of the local members of Government saying “There are three Sligo based Government TDs and two Junior Ministers, despite that the Government has consistently failed to deliver.”

Cllr Bree said the current Government are “Incapable, unwilling or unable to deliver,” adding, “It is nonsense if you are just going to have them there as nodding dogs in the Dáil.” He stressed, “We are just looking for our fair share,” adding, “The amount of money in the exchequer is unprecedented.”

Cllr Paul Taylor referenced the school in Gurteen as well as others in the county when he said, “We need the Department to step up and give them the funding.”

Those sentiments were echoed by Cllr Gerard Mullaney who said, “It is very disappointing that we haven’t got any allocation. Too much money is being spent on reports and there is too much delay getting projects off the ground.”

The lack of funding was also criticised by Cllr Ann Higgins who said, “It’s absolutely disgraceful that Sligo is consistently left off lists, it's like we don't exist. That’s not the type of democracy I want, that’s parish pump politics. One of the richest economies in Europe can’t provide basic facilities for children.”

Cllr Arthur Gibbons referred to the conditions school children and staff in Gaelscoil Chnoc na Ré are being subjected to when he said, “They are 30 years being thrown from pillar to post. It’s only a step up from the bush schools and that’s the reality. They are living in prefabs on the grounds of St Mary’s after 30 years.

He added, “We have two Junior Ministers, they are put in place by the public. Pressure needs to come from everyone. When pressure comes on it’s like a bad toothache, there is only way to get rid of it.”

Cllr Dara Mulvey was critical of the funding process when he asked, “Why are we snowed under in red tape in delivering for the students of this country. It is a disgrace in 2026, it should not be acceptable for students. This isn’t rocket science, it’s very disheartening.”

Another to express his disappointment at the decision to omit Sligo schools from the priority building programme was Cllr Donal Gilory who noted the words of former Gaelscoil Principal Mícheál Ó Broin from the recent Cathaoirleach Awards.

"I was here when Micheál made his passionate plea, we have to back it up.”

Cllr Gilroy urged his colleagues not to turn the issue into a political point scoring exercise saying, “We have to get away from the pettiness of whether or not we have a Senior Minister. We’re all disappointed, we’re all devastated.”

The debate concluded with remarks from Cllr Fergal Nealon, who proposed the motion. Addressing the chamber Cllr Nealon took issue with some of the earlier comments remarking, “I take exception to comments from Cllr Clarke and Cllr Bree. Cllr Clarke says, what addition are they? I say, what addition are you Cllr Clarke. I see our Junior Ministers working very hard bringing stakeholders together. Responsible government doesn’t just shout.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.