Laytown Schools

There is a crisis in Laytown and Bettystown and no mistake.

Over 100 families are wondering what the arrangements will be for their children's education when school's back next month. There is a sense of panic in the air, a sense of "why me", a sense of "where did it all go wrong".

There are so many levels to this crisis that most people begin to find the whole thing a bit confusing.


The short term crisis.

Scoil Oilibheir Naofa has nowhere to house junior infants pupils at the very least until October. The Department of Education has proposed that junior infant pupils be taken by bus to Bellewstown Racecourse and educated there in the very short term and taught there. Parents are understandably angry about the idea of sending their four year olds on a bus all the way up to a jockeys' weigh room at Bellewstown. In my opinion, and forgive the pun, this idea is a non-runner. I have spoken with Monsignor Hanly since last Wednesday night's meeting and I have suggested, with political colleagues of all colours, a number of options. I know that he is looking at alternatives to Bellewstown at the moment and I am really hopeful that one of them can be used. Property owners always seem to attach some string or other to offers of land and it can get disheartening. I do, however, know of one landowner who is prepared to give land to the school for a period of two years without strings attached. In this case, while it could be up and running for September 4 next, it is thought that planning permission might be an issue.

The medium term crisis
Two planning applications are lodged with Meath County Council at the moment by the Board of Management of Scoil Oilibheir Naofa for prefabs at the Parochial Hall in Laytown and for more prefabs on the existing grounds of Scoil and Spioraid Naoimh. It was hoped that without objections, these prefabs would be up and running before September. Indeed that would definitely be the case without objections. However, 14 objectors, between the two planning applications, objected to the prefabs on many grounds, all of which are genuinely held and reasonable grounds.

Since the objections went in, the Board of Management of Scoil Oilibheir Naofa has sought to address those concerns, such as road safety, and have begun to transfer the Parochial Hall application to the actual grounds of Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh, with the result that there will be no prefabs on the Parochial Hall site.

Parents at the meeting on Wednesday night asked that a cross-party group of politicians approach the individual objectors to see if their concerns had been met and whether there was anything more that can be done and would anyone be prepared to withdraw their objections? Myself and Shane McEntee TD were asked to fulfill that role. Shane (though FG!) is a decent guy and is very friendly with various members of my extended family through GAA, so I was delighted to be able to work with him. On Friday night we began our mission which to be honest is going to be extremely difficult. We spoke at length to a number of objectors, one of whom has withdrawn their objection, but the genuine concerns of others will prove harder to overcome. Shane and I also met Monsignor Hanly and discussed a number of options with him, which are being followed up. It is a job we are going to have to follow up next week.

The long term solution
Well, this part is the biggest balls-up by far. We might as well accept that there is currently no permanent site for a school as things currently stand. The famous land which our beloved councillors zoned last year, designating a site for a school, is so up in the air you would need a space shuttle to be able to grab it. While one landowner (let's call him the predominant landowner) is willing to hand over a site for a school, it turns out that the planners require a site which involves two owners. Both owners need to get together.

Alternatively, I am demanding that the councillors, through the law, direct the planners to whatever is necessary to change the proposed site of the school to involve only the predominant landowner. It is possible to do. If the council were to allow a site from the predominant landowner, it is likely that he would hand over that site for free at an early opportunity and a new school would be permanently placed there for Scoil Oilibheir Naofa. The secondary landowner's lands would then, by necessity be dezoned. They would actually make a nice park.

And finally...
I have really do have to comment on the Labour Party's opportunism on this issue. Last week, Labour put around a leaflet which betrayed a serious lack of knowledge of the intricate and delicate issues surrounding education in East Meath and, yet, implying that no one else was doing any work on the issue. Labour's petty politicking can wait until after we get kids into school in three weeks. They don't tend to mention that Labour spearheaded a rezoning effort which saw hundreds of acres rezoned in East Meath last summer. They don't tend to mention that opposition parties have controlled the East Meath area council since 1991 and it is opposition parties which have controlled rezoning since then. These are themes I will be coming back to, but for now, let's get kids into some kind of school accommodation.