40 years ago in September 1968 a decision was taken by the Department of Education that a common enrolment policy would be introduced in Ballinamore, Co. Leitrim for the towns three second level schools with a view to locating them on a single site.
In what Independent MEP Marian Harkin described as a disgraceful decision, the Department of Education had now compounded it’s failure to deliver a single site school by withdrawing funding for the shuttle bus which took pupils to classes in the three different school buildings which were ½ mile apart.
“Co. Leitrim is well used to the non delivery of political promises but the removal of this essential bus service will involve very considerable hardship for pupils and an unacceptable loss of the school time needed to help pupils achieve best possible results”, she said. It was a slap in the face to the community whose legitimate demand for decent educational services had been met with contempt, exemplified by the removal of the bus service. The cynicism of that action contrasted starkly with the statement in the Programme for Government which pledged to ‘prioritise further investment in school transport’, she said.
Despite 40 years of representations by educational and community activists in Co. Leitrim and repeated questions of Ministers in the Dail by herself and other public representatives, the net outcome was no single site school and a withdrawal of an essential shuttle bus service, Marian Harkin said.
“Would this type of mean action occur in any constituency which has a Cabinet Minister and would any Minister’s child be asked to walk ½ mile between classrooms in the rain carrying books and losing a substantial amount of their education through an unacceptable decision supported by the Minster for Education”, she said.
Independent Marian Harkin called for an immediate reversal of the decision to withdraw the shuttle school bus service in Ballinamore and the announcement of a start-up date for the new school on a single site as was first indicated 40 years ago.
