News
Jes Principal granted High Court injunction
The principal of Colasite Iognaid has secured a High Court injunction restraining the Galway secondary school’s board of management from proceeding with its disciplinary investigation pending a full court hearing.
Mary Joyce, the principal of the co-educational school of Sea Road, Galway had claimed she was afraid for her reputation and career if an allegedly fundamentally flawed disciplinary hearing by her employer into allegations against her was allowed to proceed.
Ms Joyce claimed a report compiled by the board’s chairperson about certain issues at the school amounts to predetermination of allegations against her and breaches her contractual rights and rights to fair procedures.
The board, opposing her application for an injunction preventing the investigation from proceeding, denied any predetermination.
It also denied the report is flawed or that its contents amount to any findings of wrongdoing against Ms Joyce.
In his judgment, Mr Justice Donald Binchy said Ms Joyce was entitled to an injunction as she had established a strong case because the board did not proceed with the investigation in accordance with a 2009 circular from the Department of Education dealing with procedures for the suspension and dismissal of school principals.
He said the chairman of the board, Mr Jack Cleary, did not distribute copies of the report to Ms Joyce and the other members of the board as is required under the 2009 circular, which was to the detriment of Ms Joyce.
The report, the judge added, contained “not just a statement of the facts” but also “findings and conclusions” which were made without affording her a chance to respond therefore depriving her of fair procedures and natural justice.
The Judge also said that in this case damages would not be an adequate remedy for Ms Joyce given the reputation damages she would suffer in the event the investigation was to proceed and she was to be dismissed from her job.
Mr Justice Binchy said an investigation of this kind is very disruptive to the orderly running of the school and requires urgent resolution from the boards point of view.
The Judge said the balance of convenience lies in favour of granting an injunction limited to restraining the board of management from continuing its investigation pending the full trial of the matter.
The Judge also said an early date for the full hearing of the dispute was desirable.
The Judge in his ruling noted the school’s board commenced its investigation into what it says are major issues of concern.
The allegations related to matters including an incident in the 2014 arising out of disciplinary procedure taken against a teacher. The principal, it is alleged in the report, had deliberately misled the board in regard to the matter.
There was also concerns about the principal’s loss of parents’ and students’ personal data. There were also concerns expressed in the report that Ms Joyce allegedly did not support decisions of the board, had undermined the board and that she did not meet professional standards.
In relation to staff morale the report asked the question if Ms Joyce could regain the trust support and co-operation of the staff and the trust and confidence of the students.
Ms Joyce was appointed principal of the school, a Jesuit school with approximately 620 pupils, in early 2011.
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.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
On the eve of completing his 150th marathon, an odyssey that has taken him across 53 countries, Loughrea’s Marathon Man has announced that he is planning to hang up his running shoes.
But not before Jarlath Fitzgerald completes another ten races, making it 160 marathons on the occasion of his 60th birthday.
“I want to draw the line in 2026. I turn 57 in October and when I reach 60 it’s the finishing line. The longer races are taking it out of me. I did 20 miles there two weeks ago and didn’t feel good. It’s getting harder,” he reveals.
“I’ve arthritis in both hips and there’s wear and tear in the knees.”
We speak as he is about to head out for a run before his shift in Supervalu Loughrea. Despite his physical complaints, he still clocks up 30 miles every second week and generally runs four days a week.
Jarlath receives injections to his left hip to keep the pain at bay while running on the road.
To give his joints a break, during the winter he runs cross country and often does a five-mile trek around Kylebrack Wood.
He is planning on running his 150th marathon in Cork on June 4, where a group of 20 made up of work colleagues, friends and running mates from Loughrea Athletics Club will join him.
Some are doing the 10k, others are doing the half marathon, but all will be there on the finishing line to cheer him on in the phenomenal achievement.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
