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Mercy girls unhappy with proposed amalgamation
Unrest is growing over the move to the Presentation Secondary School site following an amalgamation with the Mercy School in the absence of concrete assurances that adequate facilities will be funded by the Education Department.
Students of the Mercy School in Newtownsmyth in the heart of the city have added their voices to the debate over the amalgamation, claiming the move made no sense financially or practically.
In a letter from the Mercy Transition Year students, the girls questioned where the money would come from to build facilities such as a gym, technology room and a kitchen for hot food, which the Presentation site does not contain.
“We believe with the spacious area of our school grounds, it is obvious when looking at both sites by the areas of both buildings that the Mercy stands out to be the most capable of facilitating a medium sized school of 500 students.”
A 2009 report by consultants investigating a possible merger recommended that the school should be located on the Mercy site. In anticipation of this, the school undertook a range of work including rewiring of the whole school, installation of improved fire alarm, exterior insulation, facade replastering, a resurfaced car park, new showers, upgraded catering facilities, new technology room and refurbished computer rooms – all paid for by the State.
The patron of the schools, CEIST (Catholic Education, an Irish Schools Trust) insists, however, that only one survey of the two schools ever took place and that was the independent study that was commissioned by CEIST in 2014. That study identified the Presentation site as the most suitable for the amalgamated school.
The survey found that two-thirds of the Mercy’s teaching spaces were 9% smaller than recommended in Department of Education guidelines, the gym was too small for 500 students and there was a 12% deficit in toilet facilities, compared to a 60% surplus in the Presentation.
While there was no gym or adequate technology rooms, the report found the Presentation site had adequate space for an expansion, while the Mercy site is restricted due to its size.
The Presentation site was recommended as it “requires the least amount of re-modelling of the existing structure and has the potential for expansion to accommodate a combined curriculum and additional teaching spaces”.
Dr Marie Griffin, CEO of Ceist, said students could be assured that facilities would be provided in the Presentation site to ensure they can access the full curriculum.
“CEIST, as patron, will engage with the Department of Education and Skills in relation to the provision of any identified deficits in the site. Any changes that are taking place now are for the long-term benefit of girls’ education in the Galway City area and will ensure a strong, Catholic voluntary secondary school in the combined Mercy and Presentation traditions,” she wrote to the Galway City Tribune.
However in response to a question tabled in the Dáil, Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan would not give a commitment on funding any extension of the facilities.
The reason for the amalgamation is due to a downturn in enrolments and is scheduled to be fully completed by September 2016.
Some 60 tourism companies from Ireland attended ‘Flavours of Ireland’ 2022 in London last week – including Connemara Wild Escapes, DK Connemara Oysters and Killary Fjord Boat Tours.
‘Flavours’ is Tourism Ireland’s annual B2B tourism workshop, where tourism companies from Ireland meet and do business with top global inbound tour operators.
Now in its 20th year, ‘Flavours’ took place in the Guildhall, in the City of London, and was attended by around 100 global inbound tour operators who deliver business from all over the world, including the United States, Mainland Europe, Asia, Australasia and Africa.
‘Flavours’ provides an excellent opportunity for the participating tourism providers from Galway and Ireland to highlight and sell their tourism product and build valuable relationships with the key decision-makers in attendance.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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From the Galway City Tribune – The Office of the Planning Regulator (OPR) has asked Galway City Council to roll back material alterations to the new City Development Plan proposed by councillors.
In July, elected members voted through a raft of changes to zonings in the Draft City Development Plan 2023-29, which went out on public display.
But the Planning Regulator has now warned City Hall that many of the proposed changes do not comply with the OPR’s recommendations, and are contrary to national planning guidelines.
The OPR specifically highlighted problems with proposals to rezone as residential land deemed at risk of flooding.
Anne Marie O’Connor, Deputy Regulator, wrote to the Council’s Planning Department outlining the OPR’s fresh advice on the changes to the draft plan proposed and approved by councillors.
The draft plan will come before elected members again this month.
Councillors will be asked to row back on some of their previous material alterations, which ran contrary to advice of the OPR.
Ms O’Connor said the OPR welcomed many of the changes made by the City Council in its draft plan. She said, however, that the OPR “has a number of outstanding concerns relating to the response of the planning authority to its recommendations and to a number of proposed material alterations relating to the zoning of lands”.
These relate to changes that conflict with national and regional objectives for compact growth; with legislative requirements regarding climate action and core strategies; and with rezoning land at risk of flooding.
The OPR highlighted a dozen or more material alterations by councillors that are “not consistent” with the National Planning Framework for compact growth.
These include re-zoning of land from agricultural or recreational and amenity to residential.
The changes voted on by councillors, the OPR noted, were done against the advice of the Council’s Chief Executive Brendan McGrath.
The OPR said the changes proposed by councillors represented a “piecemeal approach” to zoning and were “inconsistent” with national policy.
These comments related to proposed rezoning of land at Rahoon; Dublin Road; Quarry Road, Menlo; Ballindooley; off Circular Road; Menlo village; Roscam and Barna Woods.
The OPR also raised “significant concerns” over five material alterations proposed for residential zonings of land at Western Distributor Road; Terryland; Menlo Village; Headford Road and Barna Woods which are located within flood zones.
The approach by councillors “may place people and property at unnecessary risk from future flood events”, the OPR warned.
Ms O’Connor told planners that if the draft plan ignores the OPR advice or is at odds with its recommendations, the Council Chief Executive must inform the OPR in writing the reasons for doing so.
Save Roscam Peninsula in a 33-page submission to the draft plan echoed many of the concerns outlined by the OPR.
The Council has pencilled in four dates in November and December to approve the plan.
It will meet on November 21, 24 and 28 and December 1 when material alterations will be voted on individually.
This article first appeared in the print edition of the Galway City Tribune, November 4. You can support our journalism by subscribing to the Galway City Tribune HERE. The print edition is in shops every Friday.
JOHN HARNEY from Mountpleasant first joined the Ballinasloe Horse and Agriculture Show Committee, all of 60-years ago, on April 24, 1962. Both John and the show are still going strong as they celebrate their 183rd event on this Sunday. Here, he looks back on his involvement with this iconic show through the years.
THE Ballinasloe Show back in the early 1960s was going well with both the Showgrounds and Duggan Park both used for running the competitions.
My first introduction to the show was stewarding the pony competitions in the Mountpleasant end of the Duggan Park with the rest of the GAA field being used for trade stands.
At that time, it was a very big show with horses, ponies, cattle and sheep, pigs and fowl – also there was a big garden and farm produce section as well as a home craft and baking section with flowers and plants supported by a very large women’s committee.
At that time, showjumping took place in the afternoon with the top riders in the country taking part. I was elected Chairman at the AGM in 1975, a position I held for ten years.
During that time, the Duggan Park Committee approached the Show Committee for a piece of the showgrounds behind the GAA Stand for dressing rooms.
This was brought up a number of times at our committee meetings, and at first, the view was that the Duggan Park Committee would buy the ground.
However, after much deliberation it was decided by the Show Committee to ‘give the ground’ for the sum of £1 with the proviso that the dressingrooms could be used on show days by the local ICA to do catering for the event.
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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