Anger as GMIT staff and students unable to wash hands or flush toilets

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – A burst water main that left GMIT Cluain Mhuire Campus without running water for a full week caused outrage among staff and students, who claim the most basic hygiene practices were put on hold in the midst of a pandemic.

The Galway City Tribune has learned that the burst pipe within the grounds of the Centre for Creative Arts and Media in Wellpark was discovered on March 26 and took a full week to fix.

As a result, toilets couldn’t be flushed and the up to 50 staff and students using the facility were unable to wash their hands. Students carrying out practical work are permitted on campus under Level 5 restrictions.

A source based at Cluain Mhuire described as ‘shocking’ the lack of mitigation measures that were put in place, particularly at a time when hygiene was crucial to preventing the spread of Covid-19.

“The problem was on the grounds of the CCAM [Centre for Creative Arts and Media] so it was up to GMIT management to fix it. They kept the college open despite the fact that there was no water in the toilets, no water to wash your hands and no drinking water.

“Even more worrying was that the fire hydrants connected to the mains would have been without a supply. This was hugely concerning from a health and safety point of view,” said the source.

While management had put water storage tanks in place, installed portaloos and provided additional hand sanitizers, the source said that toilets inside continued to be used.
This is a shortened preview version of this article. To read the rest of the story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.