Mayo Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary has expressed serious concerns about what he termed “potentially serious implications” for Ireland West Airport Knock arising from the Government’s announcement about Shannon Airport today.

Deputy Calleary commented, “The Government’s decision in relation to the reorganisation of Shannon Airport could have damaging consequences for Knock Airport. The Transport Minister Leo Varadkar has given strong indications that there will be debt write off at Shannon Airport.  If this is to happen, I want to see any debts that Knock Airport may have written off in a similar fashion.

If this new deal includes incentives for airlines to operate out of Shannon, I will demand a replica deal for airlines operating out of Knock.  All I want is a level playing pitch.

“As the details emerge of this strategy in the coming months, I am calling on the four Government TDs in this constituency to stand up and secure the future of Knock Airport. They must continue to provide the strong support to Knock that was provided under previous Governments. “I am seeking to raise this matter in the Dáil at the earliest possible opportunity. The Government has serious questions to answer in relation to the future of Knock Airport and these questions must be answered urgently,” said Deputy Calleary.

Fianna Fáil Justice Spokesperson Dara Calleary has said it is crucial that extra resources are provided to the probation service and the prison service to ensure the safe implementation of a new early prisoner release policy.

Deputy Calleary has welcomed the publication of the Irish Prison Service three-year Strategic Plan, but has expressed concern about a lack of detail from Minister Shatter.

“Protecting public safety must be the absolute priority when considering the early release of prisoners,” said Deputy Calleary. “While I recognise the need to think outside the box when it comes to sentencing and reforming an overburdened prison system, there are enormous risks attached to releasing convicted criminals en masse without a fully resourced probation service and community policing.

“So far the Justice Minister Alan Shatter has failed to outline any plan for extra resources to ensure that the probation service is equipped to keep track of all prisoners who are released early on probation. He has also failed to outline any plans to ensure that the victims of serious crime are consulted before their perpetrators are released. The welfare of victims and their families must be at the heart of this strategy, particularly when it comes to releasing criminals convicted of murder, manslaughter and sexual assault.

“At a time when the Justice Minister is pursuing a policy of cutting resources for community policing, shutting down garda stations whilst downgrading many more and cutting the budget of the community alert scheme, there are many communities across the country feeling particularly isolated and vulnerable. They need absolute assurances from Minister Shatter that their safety will not be put at further risk by the early prisoner release policy. The Minister must outline a comprehensive plan detailing the extra resources that will be provided and the procedures to consult victims.

“Fianna Fáil will be publishing a comprehensive plan on penal reform in the coming months. In that context, I welcome the policies contained in this plan to end the practise of slopping out in prisons, to remove 16 and 17 year olds from St Patrick’s Institution and to introduce drug free units to prisons,” said Deputy Calleary.

Hundreds of Mayo farmers have been left high and dry by after the Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney today confirmed that there will be no Agri-Environment Options Scheme this year.

Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary has said he is stunned by the revelations, which demonstrate Minister Coveney’s poor regard for smaller farmers.

Deputy Calleary said, “It is an absolute disgrace that after all his talk, Minister Coveney is now backing away from re-opening AEOS in 2012. Hundreds of farmers across Co Mayo who have recently come off REPS 3 have made plans based on the reasonable assumption that they could join AEOS this year. They have now been left high and dry and are facing a significant cut in their annual incomes.

“AEOS was re-opened with great fanfare in April 2011. Minister Coveney claimed at the time that it was on a reduced scale due to a failure by the previous Government to make financial provisions for it. This was a grossly misleading statement. Budget 2011 allocated €337 million to REPS/AEOS and

 Deputy Calleary as also called on Minister Hogan to clarify if households in Co Mayo that already have water meters fitted will also be subject to the €40 annual charge.   

 “Fine Gael and Labour are applauding themselves for not introducing an upfront charge of around €300 for water meter installation.  But instead, households in Mayo and across the country will have to pay €40 a year over 20 years for their meters – that’s before they pay a cent for the water they use.  How can the Government suggest that meter bill of nearly €800 is an improvement on the original figure of €300?

“The suppliers themselves cannot understand how meters and installation will cost this much.  I have spoken to local suppliers who have confirmed that all of the hardware required for installation costs less than €100. One major national supplier has said the meter itself and the work to install it could be done privately for less than €300.  Allowing people to opt for local private installation will not only cost them much less, it will keep the jobs in Co Mayo.

“I am asking Minister Hogan to clarify urgently if households will be given the choice to have standard, approved meters fitted themselves instead of paying a fee of €40 a year amounting to an overall bill of €800. Will these people be exempt from the €40 annual fee? 

 “Minister Hogan has given no indication whatsoever of how

Mary Keane of the Carrowcushlawn Cumann was elected Chairperson becoming the first female Chair of Fianna Fáil in Ballina.

Gerry Sweeney (Bonniconlon) was elected Honourary Secretary with Noel Mullen and Maureen Neary (both P.J Rutledge Cumann) elected to the position of Joint Treasurers.

Liam Henry (Bonniconlon) is the new P.R.O with former Minister of State Sean Calleary taking up the role of Honorary President.

In his address, the outgoing Chairperson of the Tír Amhalgaidh C.C. Gerry McGuinness thanked his fellow officers, delegates and members for their assistance throughout the term of his Chairmanship and for the duration of that Comhairle Cheantar’s existence. He said that it had been an honour to be selected to the position and looked forward to working with the newly formed Ballina C.C. in his capacity as Chair of the Jack Garnett C.C. in Crossmolina.

Many tributes were paid to Gerry with Dara Calleary T.D. leading the plaudits.

Under the business of the meeting Deputy Calleary outlined recent national party events with a number of delegates congratulating Dara for his efforts in the media in what was a difficult week.

Noel Mullen, Treasurer, appealed that a big effort be made at the forthcoming National Collection which takes place on the weekend of April 28th/29th.

The Officer Board elected is:

President: Seán Calleary

Vice-President: Liam Breslin, Paddy Walsh, Colm Loftus, Paddy Murray.

Chair: Mary Keane

Vice Chair: Matt Farrell

Secretary: Gerry Sweeney

Joint Treasurers: Noel Mullen and Maureen Neary

P.R.O: Liam Henry

It has been confirmed that at least six schools in Mayo will lose a teacher in September, according to local Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary.

 According to new figures published in the Irish Independent, Keenagh National School in Ballina ,Scoil Naomh An Chorrain in Achill, Scoil Naomh Mainistir Mhuigheo in Claremorris and Partry National School in Claremorris will lose at least one teacher in September as part of a three-year Fine Gael and Labour plan to slash teacher numbers in small rural schools. In addition to this, two disadvantaged schools will lose a teacher each under the DEIS cuts being enforced by the Education Minister Ruairí Quinn. These are Scoil Naomh Eachleime and Scoil Naomh Ros Dumhnach.

 Deputy Dara Calleary has said this is the first concrete evidence of how the Government’s anti-rural education policy will hit schools in Co Mayo.

“What we are seeing is the first phase of this Government’s attempts to force the closure of a number of small rural schools across the country,” said Deputy Calleary.

“The Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has targeted the West of Ireland has for the bulk of the teacher cuts this year. A total of 46 schools in Mayo, Galway, Roscommon, Leitrim, Sligo and Donegal will lose at least one teacher this coming September. And this is just the beginning. Minister Quinn is embarking on a 3-year programme to slash 250 teaching posts across rural Ireland.

“This is a deeply flawed policy that unfairly targets rural communities. There is no doubt that the end game is to force the amalgamation of small schools, resulting in some rural communities losing their local school altogether. These cuts are based on pupil numbers alone, with absolutely no consideration of a school’s ethos, the geography of a particular area or the impact on the community of removing such a key amenity.

“This is about much more than education policy; it’s about preserving smaller communities in rural Ireland. School is at the heart of so many communities here in Mayo and across the West. Many have already suffered cuts to local services like their garda stations and post offices and there would be huge social and economic consequences to them losing their local schools.”

Deputy Calleary was commenting after the Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn published details of the School Building Programme today. Just 2 of the 275 school building projects planned over the next 5 years are in Mayo.

“While I very much welcome the fact that the Government has committed to building a new special school on Pavilion Road in Casltebar in 2015/2016, this will be the only new school to go to construction in this county over the next five years. The only other school in Mayo to benefit from this much-hyped 5 year building programme is Our Lady’s School in Belmullet – a refurbishment project which has been in the pipeline for some time.

“It is disappointing that so many areas experiencing population growth in Mayo have been ruled out for any schools investment over the next five years. When you consider this alongside the attack on small rural schools, there are real concerns about an unbalanced approach from this Government when it comes to the education budget. Not only has Mayo been largely overlooked for new school projects over the next five years, dozens of small primary schools across the county are set to lose teaching posts in September and face a real threat of forced amalgamation.

News of the proposed closure of the rural post office began to break over the weekend with An Post confirming to Deputy Calleary on Monday morning that a closure of the office is imminent.

“I began to take telephone calls from concerned residents of Knockmore over the weekend and on Monday mor

The HSE has confirmed plans to shut down the psychiatric unit at St Joseph’s District Hospital in Ballina this year, according to local Fianna Fáil TD Dara Calleary. Deputy Calleary has described it as a ‘dark day’ for mental health services in north Mayo.

“The closure of Ballina’s psychiatric unit was confirmed in the HSE West Service Plan published on Friday. This plan has been fully approved by the Minister for Health James Reilly, so the Government has given the go ahead for the removal of this vital local service,” said Deputy Calleary.

“This unit has ten nurses attached and is currently serving 60 people. It is an excellent facility that provides 24-hour nursing care to individuals with chronic mental illness. Its outreach service also supports people in the community, supplying medication and advice to those in need.

“To remove all of this from Ballina, one of the largest towns in the west of Ireland, will drastically reduce the mental health services available to communities in north Mayo. There is doubt that patients will suffer as a result of these cuts. The acute unit in St. Teresa’s is already under enough stress, and this policy will put it under even more pressure.

“I am relieved to see that Teach Aisling in Castlebar is being kept open as the result of pressure put on the Government by me and members of the community. This excellent facility had been earmarked for closure and I appealed in the Dáil to the Health Minister James Reilly and Minister of State for Mental Health Kathleen Lynch to keep it open. I am glad that they have now decided to keep it open.

“It is a pity that the Government didn’t also see sense in relation to St Joseph’s in Ballina. I will continue to put pressure on the HSE and the Minister for Health to reconsider these dangerous cuts that will have long-term implications for communities in north Mayo,” said Deputy Calleary.

Speech by Dara Calleary TD

Fianna Fáil Private Members Motion condemning cuts to small schools

Wednesday, 01 February 2012

I would like to thank my colleague Brendan Smith TD for putting forward this motion and giving us the chance over the past two evening to highlight the vital role that small schools, scoileanna gaeilge and the schools of minority faiths play across this island and to especially highlight the danger to their continued existence because of these cuts announced by the Minister.

And let’s be clear from the start.

There is a danger to their existence.

This notion propagated by the minister and his colleagues in government during speeches and in the amendment to the Fianna Fáil motions that no school is been forced to close. Frankly you are all playing with words. I want to re-iterate the figures given by Brendan Smith yesterday evening and not counter acted by any government speaker.

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47% of the 3,200 primary schools in the state have 5 teachers or fewer so it is evident the huge impact the staffing schedules will have on small rural schools.

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These changes represent a dramatic increase. For example a Gaeltacht school will now need 83 pupils instead of 76 pupils in order to qualify for 4 teachers this year.

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The new retention figures published by the department are inequitable. A large school with 12 teachers needs another 28 pupils in order to become a 13 teacher school. However, for a 2-teacher school, if it wants to become a 3-teacher school this September, it will need an additional 37 pupils, while a 3-teacher school looking to become a 4-teacher school will need an additional 30 pupils. Why are small schools punished in comparison to larger schools? These new retention figures will, in fact, make it more difficult for the smaller schools to expand.

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65% of church of Ireland schools will be directly impacted by the new staffing schedules.

I don’t hear the department telling larger schools in this country– “to consider their future” and – “to assess their options for amalgamation” but it is clearly sending that message to smaller schools and in turn the department is planting a seed of doubt in the minds of parents who may wish to keep their children in their own communities.

Communities across this island, across my own county of Mayo are receiving this message from the Department. They are assessing how it will impact on them and that impact will be devastating in many areas. Communities such as that in Leenane on the Mayo Galway border are writing to us to outline that impact and in recent days. I and you Minister have received correspondence describing what will happen if the school in Leenane closes.

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Due to the geographical location the next nearest school is 24km away

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Owing to the dispersal of the area children from the school could end up going to 4 different schools-resulting in the division and abandonment of their community

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A family with two children going to school-one who has to be picked up at 2pm and one at 3. They live as I said 24km away from the school. There is no public transport. There will be days where the family involved will have to do two over and back runs-48km each way-a 96km school run in one day. Nobody wins from that situation.

That situation will be replicated across the country.

The other myth propagated by the minister yesterday evening and in the amendment to the motion is that rural schools are in some way better off –the amendment uses the phrases “more favourable capitation and other grant payments”. Yes they receive more favourable payments but that is a direct acknowledgement of the very specific challenges they face that larger, urban schools don’t.

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The government amendment ignores the fact that teachers in these schools face challenges not faced in larger schools.

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It ignores the fact that they must address not just mixed abilities but also mixed ages.

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It ignores the fact that they must all take a bigger leadership role because of the smaller staff numbers and the smaller and more dispersed communities in which they are based

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It ignores the fact they have core costs which are there irrespective of the level of enrolment.

In fact this entire cut is based on an ignorance of the educational value of the economic and social value and the community importance of schools.

In the Seanad last night Minister you commented that you did not see your function “as one of visiting schools, except where doing so is necessary or appropriate”. Can I suggest that before you proceed with this cut that it is necessary and it is appropriate that you actually visit some of the schools that will be affected. By actually visiting them you will see the educational value and you will witness that the opportunities given by our smaller schools punch far above what you might expect to find.

For instance you could visit Glenmore NS in County Mayo, a small school based just outside of Crossmolina in Ballina. This school driven by a wonderful principal and a very vibrant parents association has made major advances in recent years. It has recently updated its technology which has enabled them to take on the eTwinning project. eTwinning is the community for schools in Europe who reward excellence in the best use of technology in education. Glenmore N.S. has joined up with schools from every European country and will represent Ireland. That kind of initiative and opportunity is replicated in schools across this island-exactly the kind of initiative we need in the wider economy-the kind of initiative and opportunity that will be snuffed out if this cut proceeds.

Minister, last night, you liberally quoted Shakespeare in your remarks. Can I respectfully point you to another author, one who’d be a better judge of small rural schools then Mr Shakespeare.

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