Louth parents paying more in contribution fees to primary schools than any other county

Parents in Louth are paying more in voluntary contribution fees to primary schools than any other county in the country according to new figures.

Over a quarter of parents in Ireland are paying more than €200 per child to offset the drop in Government funding for schools, putting a further train on their finances.

The county with the highest percentage of parents paying over €200 in voluntary contributions is Louth – where almost half of parents, at 48%, stated they are asked for voluntary contributions of over €200 per child.

Other counties in Ireland with the highest voluntary contribution fees are Dublin, Cork, Tipperary and Laois, the new research by Bytek Managed Print Specialists, in association with Epson, shows.

The county with the lowest voluntary contribution fee is Roscommon, where almost one in four parents pay less than €24 per child.

Other counties with low voluntary contribution costs include Leitrim, Galway, Cavan and Kerry.

Earlier this year, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said voluntary contributions were permissible “provided it is made absolutely clear to parents that there is no question of compulsion to pay and that they are doing so of their own volition”.

Number of children removed from their homes in Louth on safety grounds falls 26%

The number of children removed from their homes in Louth under Section 12 of the Childcare Act fell by 26% last year.

Gardaí can remove a child from their parents/guardians if they believe there is an immediate danger to the child.

There were 53 such instances in the Louth Garda Division in 2013 but this fell to 39 last year, according to figures in the An Garda Siochána annual report.

There were also 401 people reported missing in Louth last year, all of which were traced.

HIQA expresses “grave concerns” over level of protection for local children living in direct provision accommodation

HIQA has said it has grave concerns about child protection services in Louth and Meath.

The Health Information and Quality Authority published a report recently on its inspection of the child protection and welfare services provided to children living in direct provision accommodation in four of the Child and Family Service areas, namely Louth/Meath, Midlands, Sligo/Leitrim/West Cavan and Dublin North City.

The authority says around 14% of the population of children living in these centres were referred to the Child and Family Agency in one year, compared to 1.6% for the general child population.

In the year to August 2014, there were around 1,600 children living in direct provision accommodation. Of these, there were 209 referrals of child protection and welfare concerns relating to 229 children.

Among the issues identified were physical or mental illness of a parent impacting on capacity to provide quality care for children, mental health issues for children and parents, isolation, and lack of clothes and toys.

Protection concerns included children being left alone for long periods of time as well as proximity of children to unknown adults living on the same site, and inappropriate contact by adults towards some children.

In Louth/Meath, there were significant delays in social work interventions. Of particular concern was that in 27 out of the 38 cases reviewed, children were not met with or seen by social workers to inform their decision making about the referral even though records indicated concerns about their safety and welfare.

There were significant delays in completing assessments and sharing information, which placed children at risk. In this area children did not all receive the services they needed, initial assessments were not completed and some risks were not addressed. In one case there were significant concerns about an allegation of physical abuse of two children and the case was closed without children being visited.

Mary Dunnion, Director of Regulation of HIQA said: “The quality of the child protection and welfare service provided to children across the four areas sampled in this inspection was radically inconsistent. The quality and level of service varied widely across the four areas visited. In the Midlands the service was mixed but in Louth/Meath the service was much poorer and some risks had not been identified and addressed by managers. There was no strategic plan in place to identify and meet the needs of this particularly vulnerable group of children and families.”

Dundalk students express disappointment at yesterday’s teacher strike, accusing teachers of “stubbornness”

ISSU President Craig McHugh

Members of the Irish Second Level Student’s Union (ISSU) in Dundalk have expressed their disappointment with the strike action that saw over 330,000 students “locked out” of education yesterday.

Secondary schools both locally and nationally did not open on Tuesday due to the teaching strikes called upon by ASTI and TUI over their battle against the proposed junior cert reform.

Coláiste Rís student and ISSU President Craig McHugh spoke to Matt Cooper on yesterday’s The Last Word show on Today FM and said he believed the dispute was no longer about junior cert reform, accusing teachers of “stubbornness”.

“I am deeply disappointed that the strikes went ahead. Over 330,000 students like me were affected and the feeling among many that we represent is that this is no longer about opposition to reform, but almost stubbornness.

“The junior cycle was broken and inadequate for the evolving world we live in. The problems outlined by the teaching unions, in my opinion and the students I represent, does not justify an industrial action as large as a strike.

“We’ve compromised and bit our tongue at the reduction of the continuous assessment decision from 60pc to 40pc and I think it’s time for the teaching unions to do the same, move forward and get on with it.

“This reform is good. It works for students and the negatives being outlined may be considered as issues to some, but we don’t and the majority of education stakeholders do not believe this strike is in anyway necessary and that majority stems from students right up to principals and parents.”

Other ISSU representatives from Dundalk including Shay McArdle (O Fiaich College) and Joy Moses (St Vincent’s) echoed Craig’s remarks.

Craig also called upon TUI leader Gerry Quinn to call off the proposed January strike due to its timing and close proximity with Mock Junior Cert and Leaving Cert exams.

Senator Moran urges teachers to reconsider next week’s strike action

Senator Mary Moran

Local Senator Mary Moran has expressed her disappointment that second level teachers are set to carry out a proposed strike next Tuesday over Junior Certificate reforms and has called on them to reconsider their decision.

The Labour Party representative, a former schoolteacher in St Vincent’s, said the only losers would be the students if secondary schools across the country were to close on December 2nd and added that she felt new Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan had been doing a good job since her appointment last summer.

“In my opinion Minister O’ Sullivan has made considerable movement to address the concerns of students, parents and teachers about Junior Cert reform since she became the Minister for Education.

“She has recently agreed to proposals that students will continue to receive a state certificate recognising student achievement after three years in second level education. She has also proposed that as a result of consultation with the relevant parties that a final exam in 3rd year will account for 60% of total marks while the other 40% will be marked on continuous assessment.

“I believe the Minister has made great efforts to bring a satisfactory resolution and I would urge all sides to continue to negotiate to ensure that students do not lose out,” said the Senator.

Local creches offer to come to the aid of those affected by Ages and Stages closure

Two local crèches have offered to come to the aid of parents affected by the impending closure of the Ages and Stages Early Years Centre in Mullaharlin Park.

It was revealed yesterday that the crèche off the Dublin Road would be closing its doors on Friday August 29^th.

That has sparked fears amongst parents about what will happen with their children after that while staff are also facing an uncertain future regarding their job status.

However, commenting on the Talk of the Town Facebook page this morning, Ciara Byrne of the Pugwash Bay crèche encouraged those affected to get in touch with her.

She said: “Parents and staff please contact me on 0429338055. I am the manager of Pugwash Bay crèche and Montessori based in Dundalk . We may be able to help you guys out.”

Mandy Stevenson from the Redeemer crèche in Ashling Park has also extended an olive branch to affected parents.

She emailed Talk of the Town to say: “I am the chairperson of Redeemer board. I was shocked to hear the news regarding the closure of Ages and Stages creche.

“We are a community creche in Redeemer and are willing to support parents with places for their children. My contact details are 0871351413.”

Claire Woods of Louth Childcare also added: “Support for Parents is available from Louth County Childcare Committee in seeking alternative childcare arrangements. Please contact us on 042 9336364  or visit our website www.louthchildcare.ie.”

Blow for parents, staff and children as local crèche is set to close

Staff, parents and children involved with the local Ages and Stages Early Years Centre were dealt a devastating blow yesterday after it was announced that the crèche would close its doors at the end of this month.

The facility at Mullaharlin Park, off the Dublin Road, has been open for 20 years having initially started out in Dundalk Resource Centre. It only relocated to Mullaharlin Park in November 2008 following funding for a new centre from Pobal, ICTU, NDP, DSP, Louth County Council and the Louth County Childcare Committee.

Catering for children from six months to six years of age, it has been a hugely popular place in recent years. Now though it is set to close its doors from Friday August 29^th.

One worried parent contacted Talk of the Town about Ages and Stages this morning, expressing concern at where she and other parents would find a replacement facility for children at such short notice.

Describing the news as “devastating”, she said: “I picked up my daughter from crèche yesterday evening only to be handed a letter by a young girl in tears informing me the crèche would be closing within two weeks and I would need to make alternative childcare arrangements as soon as possible, it came as such a shock!

“They’re such lovely girls in there and have built up such an amazing bond with my little girl, I don’t know where I’m going to start to find somewhere else as good.

“Apparently this is due to both lack of funding and lack of take up in childcare places. I can’t understand it though as this crèche is heavily funded by Pobal and is in an ideal catchment area located beside DKIT and only 5 minutes from Blackrock and the M1.

“I was so disappointed that given the circumstances management were not available to speak with parents and not on hand to deliver the news in person.
“I’m not sure if anything can be done to save it but I thought even just raising awareness might help.”

As well as the inconvenience and stress caused for parents by the closure, it is believed that more than a dozen staff will be out of jobs if the crèche does close its doors.

Are you affected by the closure or have your children used the facility? Let us know your thoughts!

Meenan looks at safer parking solutions at Gaelscoil

Gaelscoil Dhun Dealgan in Muirhevnamor

Sinn Féin’s Cllr Kevin Meenan has called on Dundalk Town Council to come up with safer parking solutions at Gaelscoil Dhun Dealgan in Muirhevnamor.

The all-Irish school is popular with pupils and parents from all over the area because of its specialised nature. That leads to a large number of cars forming in the estate when students are entering and leaving the school. That, coupled with the natural traffic flow of the estate, leads to huge vehicular traffic in that part of Muirhevnamor at key times of the day.

Parents have become concerned about the number of cars that their children having to walk through to get collected from school and have asked Cllr Meenan to look at ways of dealing with the problem before an accident occurs.

He told LMFM that a number of parents had been on to him about the problem. He said he would now talk to council engineers to look at safer parking solutions near to the school. He has already met with the school’s principal and is welcoming further feedback from the public after claiming there were a number of “near misses” in recent times.

Meenan urges Bay Estate residents to be vigilant after discarded needles are found in estate

Cllr Kevin Meenan

Local councillor Kevin Meenan has urged residents in Bay Estate to be vigilant after a number of discarded needles were discovered in the estate at the weekend.

The Sinn Féin representative – who will be running in May’s local elections – was contacted by a number of constituents over the weekend about the matter.

It came after residents challenged a group of people acting suspiciously in the field of the estate. When they felt discarded needles were discovered. These were safely removed but locals, particularly those with young children, are worried that there might be more in the area.

Commenting on the matter, Cllr Meenan said: “This particular area is used as a short-cut for parents taking their children to school. You would often see young kids playing here or just hanging around.

“We are always trying to encourage kids away from their computers, to go outside and play active games like football etc. We need to stop this happening. I will be talking to community drug activists and Gardaí to try and stop this happening,” he said.