IPPN

THE Desperate Housewives came to the Dáil looking for some action yesterday.

But it wasn't the stars of the hit US TV show protesting on Kildare Street. It was a group of angry mothers, furious that their children are being taught in a GAA clubhouse in Santry, Co Dublin.

Styling themselves the 'Desperate Housewives of Gaelscoil Cholmcille', the group of 25 parents spent the best part of an hour protesting outside the gates of Leinster House.

Gaelscoil Cholmcille, a primary school for girls and boys established in the mid-'90s, operates out of the first floor of St Kevin's Football Club, which has just four toilets for approximately 250 pupils.

It is small and cramped, the parents say, with narrow corridors and a principal's office that also functions as a library and staff room.

While the parents say the football club has been "brilliant", they are furious that their children are being schooled in premises totally unsuitable to their needs.

"I have a son who's about to go into sixth class and he's never known what a proper school looks like," said Anne McKenna, whose daughter also attends the school. "It's an absolute disgrace.

"The children are in atrocious conditions, they really are. I have to say, we're lucky that we kept the teachers, because (Education Minister) Mary Hanafin wouldn't work where her health and safety was being compromised.

"Yet they expect the teachers and the children to work and be taught in conditions where their health and safety are being compromised."

The Department of Education said the provision of a proper building for the school was "under active consideration", but could give no indication of when it might get the go-ahead.

The Office of Public Works, which has responsibility for managing State property, has identified one site which "could provide for the long-term accommodation needs of the school", a department statement said. However, it is giving no firm commitment that this site will be earmarked for the school.

"The building of a new school on a greenfield site is only one option being considered by the department," the statement added.

"A second option, which could offer a better value-for-money solution, is being examined as part of an overall review of the primary educational infrastructure in the area where the school is located."

Click here to access the article on the Irish Examiner website