Teachers and parents join huge protest
Vote on two education motions
Inside the council chamber, as the protest raged outside, a number of council members were putting forward motions condemning the Government's education cuts. Two motions condemning the cuts were on the agenda for the meeting proposed by Cllr Gerry McGuire (Lab), and Socialist Party colleagues, Cllr Clare Daly and Cllr Ruth Coppinger.
Cllr McGuire's motion called on the Government to reverse the 'massive cuts in education introduced in the Budget and also the increase in class sizes'.
Cllr Daly and Cllr Coppinger's motion called on the council to condemn the cuts 'outright'. They said the cuts had a 'potentially devastating effects on schools within Fingal'.
At the time of writing, it was not known whether the two motions of condemnation against the cuts had passed a vote of the council.
However, with a strong majority of nonGovernment party councillors, a vote in favour of both motions appeared likely.
The idea to hold the protest to coincide with the council meeting came out of a meeting at Swords Educate Together School and gathered pace quickly with every Educate Together School in Fingal quickly joining the effort.
The Irish National Teacher's Organisation then gave the protest its support and asked that representatives from primary schools across county join the protest.
Principal of Swords Educate Together in Swords, Gerard Kelly, called on parents from the school to turn up in large numbers at the protest to 'keep the pressure on' for a reversal of the cuts.
To illustrate the importance of the protest, Mr Kelly told parents at the school with a 'plethora' of bugs going around, he lost two teachers to uncertified sick leave in the past week. He was able to get a substitute for both teachers but from January 1st, he will not be able to do so.
In a statement issued to parents, Mr Kelly said: 'From January 1st, I will not be in a position to engage substitute teachers for such uncertified sick leave for up to three consecutive days.
' The children will either have to be sent home or distributed over the remainder of classes in the school. Either option is utterly unacceptable.'
- JOHN MANNING
