Parents at a boys' school in Co Kerry withdrew their children yesterday to protest at the allegedly unsafe and unsavoury conditions their children have endured over the past four years.
St Joseph's school in Rathmore is on the INTO's condemned list. While the main building was demolished last summer, the 78 boys have had to put up with "temporary prefabs" and on-site work and cramped playing conditions since September. Three demountable classrooms have now been delivered.
The parents withdrew their children for the day to highlight "the way we were treated", according to Ms Mary Woods, who has three boys at the school. "Not just the Department of Education but the whole process seems to be one big delay. Every time anything has to be done it seems to take for ever," she said.
Parents and teachers are now worried they will be left waiting for a permanent school.
According to a spokesperson for the Department of Education, a replacement school has been sanctioned and is at the planning stage.