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MINISTER FOR EDUCATION Ruairí Quinn has announced that 386 schools across every county in the country will be able to undertake school improvements this summer as his department is providing almost €35 million in funding.
The funding is being given under the Summer Works Scheme which aims to upgrade toilets and roofs in primary and secondary schools nationwide. It follows a previous announcement that the same number of schools would also receive funding to undertake gas, electrical and mechanical works. 280 of the schools which will benefit from this round of funding are primary schools while 106 are post-primary.
Speaking today at Rathgar National School in Dublin, which will get funding to upgrade their toilet facilities this summer, Quinn said the government wants to ensure that “all of our children are safe, warm and secure in their schools”.
He said it is also a welcome boost for the construction sector as it will support jobs in the communities in which the schools are situated. It is estimated that 4,200 direct and 840 indirect construction jobs will be supported as a result of the scheme.
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The headline is very misleading and sensationalist. This money will be used by schools that have little or no funding for years! Many schools aren’t fit for purpose and our many children have to attend school with extremely poor basic utilities. It’s a small step in the right direction !
Yup, some in prefabs. Electioneering at its best.
Yes, but it ‘s the Journal. The festering horde of nihilists need their meat.
Ah John, you make being part of a festering horde a nihilists sound so negative.
Sensationalist headline.. Cheap journalism making a cheap dig.
The way the headline is worded , it’s sounds like a private citizen giving a donation out of his own pocket. Quinn and his department are dishing out tax payers money to make some schools update to a near minimum of standard. The amount of fundraising and parents contributions to schools, registration fees for secondary school, cost of school books, uniforms ect should be said to every government politican that comes knocking. The next time your told at the door that Ireland is one of the few countries left that doesn’t charge for water, answer with Ireland is one of the few countries that costs a couple of hundred to send children back to school yearly.
In fairness to the Journal this Summer Works Scheme IS specifically for roof and toilet works. Although I’d have said “improved” instead of the facetious sounding “nicer”.
http://www.education.ie/en/Press-Events/Press-Releases/2014-Press-Releases/PR14-05-02.html
And in fairness to Ruairi Quinn this Scheme (i.e. minor works to be carried out during school summer holidays) is announced annually at this time every year and not tied to elections.
When it comes to what this government and successive governments have done to this. Country I’m definitely in the festering nihilist camp, John.
nicer toilets with limited water dose not add up , its called election times silly season
Nothing for them to be crowing about coming up to election time. This is an absolute basic right and should be seen to no matter what. How about they get rid of the prefab classrooms all over the country (and the politicians relations who have the rental agreements), replace the teachers that were dropped and the SNAs. Stop messing about with the curriculum because it’s obviously something he knows nothing about and focus on providing our kids the best possible education that we can.
This could have been done a year ago. I would be more inclined to look at Quinn’s overall failure as Minister and I would look at the elections coming up.
The only roof being built here is over the Labour Party’s head. Not that it will do much good
Is there an election looming
Damned if you do, damned if you don’t
It’s all about the timing Saul
Either you are right or else cynicism has engulfed the Irish population completely (but who could blame them)
I’d be interesting to look at the locations of the schools & the Labour party candidate running in that area to see if there was any correlation with their position in the polls.
Damned if you don’t up until the election, then damned if you do just before the election.
Hopefully this actually happens. It would be a very welcome shot in the arm for contractors.
So that they can actual roofs, or so that they can have nicer roofs?
Nicer? I think whatever informative merit the article had was lost by the attitude of the headline. Sounds like someone must have been lucky enough never to experience a damp wet school with broken toilets.
That is about 98.5K per school, which will possibly be swallowed up in consultancy costs etc before a nail is driven in, the boys simply must get their cut.
The right thing at a convenient time
Why were schools not brought up to standard when FF were in power and country was allegedly awash with money ? FF have a lot to answer for
They do indeed, bit I’m never voting for them again either !
Maybe they announced the funding for summer works now so that schools can organise getting the work done during the summer. Just a thought
These type of works are given funding at this time of the year, every year. But let’s have conspiracy theories anyway!!
The summer works scheme happens every year, not just with years that have elections.
Spin merchants at work! He goes so far as the say the government want to ensure all our children are safe, warm and secure in their schools- which reads to me as if some children are in unsafe cold school buildings. Roof and toilets for all!! Thank you so so much Minister you are indeed an inspiration to us all! Lucky lucky us and the children of Ireland.
Ye mr Quinn I’d prefer a nice toilet for a shite than overcrowded classrooms any day!
I would think clean toilets should be a priority in schools. I’m only surprised that Health and Safety haven’t done something about this ages ago.
That money is gone straight down the toilet!!!
Fair play and I’ve seen more schools built in the last few years than I thought possible oranmore renmore doughiska all within 5 miles of each other
Would have preferred if he had put this money into providing affordable crèche and afterschool care for hard pressed working parents instead of this token cosmetic work ahead of an election
Since when did toilets and other essential work become cosmetic!!
It is token cosmetic work on run down buildings and pre-fabs. What’s the point of new toilets when there are pre-fabs, with 30 plus children squeezed into a classroom?
Well we’re all very sorry that you do get what you want.
You’d swear from the headline that he was gifting the money to schools from out of his own pocket ! Get a grip …. This is taxpayers money being doled out grudgingly to schools that aren’t fit to work in often !!
Ah that’s nice
Is there a breakdown of monies to be paid to fee-paying and non-fee-paying schools under this scheme?
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