Sunday, December 16, 2007

Principals condemn school water fees

The Irish Primary Principals' Network has condemned any effort made to add water charges to the running costs of schools.

They say that primary schools are already in financial difficulty due to the soaring costs of heating oil and other utilities.

IPPN Director Sean Cottrell said that it is time parents and principals refused to prop up the shambles that is primary school underfunding.

The Minister for the Environment and the Minister for Education are to discuss the controversy surrounding school water charges.

Catholic primary school managers have written to the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, expressing alarm that they are to be charged up to €10,000 in water charges.

It follows confirmation earlier this week from the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin that the schools must pay for the water.

Minister Hanafin also urged schools facing large water bills to negotiate with their local authorities.

However the CPSMA says 46 primary schools were already in serious financial difficulties this time last year.

The Chairman of the Oireachtas Education Committee, Green TD Paul Gogarty, has told RTÉ's The Week in Politics that it beggars belief that schools should have to pay the full charges for water.

'The Green Party position would always be to give a free allowance to domestic users and then pay above that. I think that is one solution possibly for schools,' he said.

Mr Gogarty said he has called an emergency meeting of the Education Committee next Tuesday to try and thrash out the issue between the Departments of Environment and Education.

He said he will bring the full details of this response before the committee on Tuesday, but he remains adamant that there is a way around the charges.

However speaking on the same programme Conor Lenihan TD, Minister for Integration said 'There is room for John Gormley as Minister for Environment to knock heads with local authorities up and down the country and trash out a deal whereby up to a certain threshold you don't pay for what would be called normal water usage and beyond that there could be charges.'

However the minister also said there is 'no question of not charging for water, there is no exception.'

Brian Hayes, Fine Gael Education Spokesman said 'The Government seems to have adopted a policy in our schools of don't flush, don't wash where they are effectively regarding schools as businesses.' He added, 'I believe the bills should be handed back to the Minister for Happiness [Minister for Education] and let her pay them until such time as the government have worked out a deal.'
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