Connacht Tribune
Education Minister agrees to meet on rural schools
During a teachers’ conference in Galway this week, Education Minister Joe McHugh agreed to hold a symposium this summer to review issues that are hampering smaller rural schools.
Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) president Joe Killeen – a teaching principal in Lough Cutra in Gort – said decreasing the pupil teacher ratio and increasing the capitation grant would particularly aid Galway’s many rural schools.
While both were referred to by Minister McHugh during his speech to teachers at the Galmont Hotel, the union would continue to make these priorities.
“I asked him to address the fact that you have more children per teacher in a smaller school than in a bigger school. We have to have more teachers to remove that divide and the only way we can do that is reduce the pupil/teacher ratio from 26:1 closer to the European average of 20:1,” Mr Killeen told the Connacht Tribune.
“At the minute the funding capitation is €1 per day per child that has to cover all the costs of the school – it was increased by 5% in the last budget but was cut by 15% in the past – we’re asking for that 10% to be put back.”
He said another key issue was an increase in funding for services in smaller schools – PE halls in rural schools remained a rarity while teaching aids such as interactive white boards were also beyond the reach of small facilities.
Teaching principals in the smaller schools were being overloaded by an avalanche of changes and paperwork, yet were not being given their one day per week for administration duties.
“Principals are finding it difficult to teach a class and put in place all the changes – the GDPR, child protection guideline requirements, the revised English language programme and the new financial requirements for schools to be fully tax compliant. These are among the issues that will be discussed at the symposium announced by the Minister hopefully this summer.”
In his speech, Minister McHugh acknowledged there was “unfinished business” and issues of “outstanding concern” that needed to be addressed around pay equality. Teachers who qualified between 2011 and 2014 continue to be paid less than their colleagues as a result of the public service pay agreement.
Mr McHugh said these issues would be given “full consideration” in either an upcoming pay review or in the new round of pay talks due to start next year.
Mr Killeen said that pay inequality had sent a generation of teachers abroad to Dubai and China and it was only be removing it that more teachers would be recruited.
A survey by the Catholic Primary School Managers’ Association (CPSMA) last year found that the State was meeting only 53pc of the running costs of a primary school and that more than €46m a year was being contributed by parents or through other fundraising initiatives.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
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Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
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Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
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