Gates locked on school carpark over insurance concerns

From the Galway City Tribune – A carpark that had been used by parents and staff at the Galway Educate Together school in Newcastle has been closed due to a lack of insurance.

The carpark, adjacent to the school on the Thomas Hynes Road, is owned by the Newcastle Combined Community Association (NCCA) which said it had to lock the gates on Monday after the Department of Education failed to engage with it over providing adequate cover for those using the facility.

Chairperson of the NCCA, Seamus Davey, told the Galway City Tribune that their organisation had no option but to lock the gates as, despite numerous attempts to secure a meeting with the Department to raise the issue, no correspondence had been answered.

“The carpark is owned by the NCCA, which is a charity and a limited company. We have been advised by our insurance company that we have no cover should, God forbid, an accident happen there,” said Mr Davey.

“We wanted to sit down with the Department and put in place a proper agreement and ensure their insurance covered us because it is being used every day as a drop-off and collection point for the school.”

Mr Davey said the site had been used as a carpark as part of a loose agreement with the school and a number of spaces had been made available for that purpose, but in recent times it was filling up and had become busier with traffic.

“It’s on grounds which we have on long-term lease from Galway City Council to build a community centre – it’s our grounds. We wanted to facilitate those using it but the advice we got was that if any of the kids using it to get to school were involved in an accident or there was a car accident, we would not be covered by insurance.

“We want to make sure there is cover from the Department,” he said.

Mr Davey said the NCCA had been engaging with school management, but the Department remained uncooperative.

“We want to draw up a proper agreement with the Board of Management and the Department of Education and to ensure everything is above board.

“We don’t blame the school in any way for what is happening but the Department isn’t responding to emails and unfortunately, we were left with no option but to close it.

“We want to be good neighbours and don’t want to be any inconvenience to parents, but we have to protect our property,” said Mr Davey.

It is understood that the carpark had been in use by school patrons for a number of years ahead of Monday’s closure, but no agreement was in place.

The Galway City Tribune contacted both Galway Educate Together National School and the Department of Education. Neither responded to requests for comment ahead of publication.