Dear Minister
O’Sullivan,
I am shocked and saddened to hear about the way in
which the Government is completely disregarding the
needs and wishes of the people of Urris, Clonmany,
Co Donegal.
Though now working in England, I am a native of
Urris and frequently visit Urris. As you will know,
parents of people from Urris are being given the
choice of paying up to €650 to send their children
to Carndonagh Community School or else send their
children to school in Buncrana through the
treacherous route over Mamore Gap. The route is
completely inappropriate for bussing students to
school - one side of the Gap is a corkscrew route,
the other side is a 2km, steep gradient drop, only
passable by cars going one way at a time.
At Christmas when I was at home visiting my mother,
a native of Urris who was married and living on the
other side of the gap in Desertegney died and all
the people from Urris attending the funeral had to
go the longer route through Clonmany as the Gap was
impassable due to frost.
Many natives of Urris never use the road due to its
nature. Are you prepared to risk the safety of
school children going over a mountain road like this
during winter? If an accident occurs, will you be
willing to take responsibility for the welfare of
these students? If this route is not used, then
Carndonagh is much closer than Buncrana.
However, this is not just a problem for the people
of Urris but demonstrates a threat to life in rural
Ireland being posed by the current government. Urris
is one of the most economically deprived rural areas
in Ireland. Historically, lower numbers from Urris
go onto University than from local towns like
Clonmany, Carndonagh and Moville. I realise you came
from a different social background and attended a
fee paying school, but as someone who completely
depended on State support to go to school, I believe
it is the duty of the Minister for Education and
Skills to facilitate the education of people from
economically-deprived areas, rather than placing
hurdles in their path. I ask you to stop this
nonsense and stop the anxiety your department’s
actions are causing for the parents and children of
Urris.
As Minister for Education and Skills, the buck stops
with you. To blame Bus Eireann is nonsensical and
hiding behind the cloak of bureaucracy:
Dysfunctional bureaucracy is the fault of the
ultimate designer, not the implementer.
As a final point, if you refuse to stop this
nonsense, you owe the people of Urris one thing -
you should come to Urris with other government TDs
and Senators and go over and back Mamore Gap in a
52-seater coach of at least twenty years old to show
that you believe the route is safe for the children
of Urris.
Regards,
Jimmy Donaghey
Professor of Industrial Relations,
University of Warwick,
Coventry
CV4 7AL
(Student of Carndonagh Community School, 1989-1994) |
