THE Sixmilebridge area badly needs a secondary school, the September meeting of Clare County Council heard.
Councillor John Crowe said that throughout Clare there are significant problems with the availability of places in secondary schools. “As we all know there is a major shortage of school places in secondary schools throughout the county. Even with new schools and extensions in Killaloe, Tulla, Scariff and Ennistymon, we still have a major problem.”
He said that in the parish of Sixmilebridge there are now over 600 pupils attending two national schools. On top of that he said there are 252 in Newmarket, 293 in Cratloe, 210 at the Wells, 35 in Ballycar and 112 at Stonehall.
All the secondary schools closest to Sixmilebridge are already packed, with the demographics still becoming more unfavourable. “If you look at St Caimin’s and the Comprehensive and Tulla, they’re all full, with waiting lists. We all know what it’s like, any of us who are councillors in the area, people come to us because they can’t get children into secondary schools,” said Councillor Crowe
Development is needed now, he claimed. “Would you believe that in Sixmilebridge alone there were 280 young people trying to get onto buses. This is an absolute scandal, what is going on. I remember about 20 years Sixmilebridge was down to get a secondary school, but it went elsewhere. There’s no use talking, the time for talking is over at this stage, when you see figures like this, see what is happening on the ground, it’s absolutely crazy.”
Fianna Fáil’s Pat O’Gorman backed the motion. “I was in Sixmilebridge one morning to see 280 children getting on double decker buses to go to school in St Caimin’s and the Comprehensive in Shannon. This isn’t taking into account the children going to school in Ennis, in Tulla and in Limerick as well.”
He said that with capacity issues already in existence, there are around 100 houses being built in Sixmilebridge, which can only intensify the problems.
Councillor David Griffin said that Sixmilebridge is due a school. “It’s no longer a village, it’s a thriving town and we need to see the infrastructure put in place.”
He said the school bus situation in recent weeks had been an “absolute mess” with very little consultation or flexibility.
Councillor Donna McGettigan backed the motion, saying that there is frequently chaos at times of drop off and collection around the Shannon schools, while she warned there is a danger of someone being seriously injured.
“A new school in Sixmilebridge would be ideal and I fully support it,” she added.
Councillor Tommy Guilfoyle said that there is a shortage of school places around Ennis also, with local parents having to bring their children to places such as Tulla and Kildysart.
A report to the meeting from Senior Planner Helen Quinn said the Council is well aware of the need for a new school for Sixmilebridge. “The Sixmilebridge Town Centre First Plan was published in June 2023. In developing the plan, extensive consultation was undertaken and throughout the stakeholder consultation workshops, the need for a new secondary school for Sixmilebridge as a growing town was raised by the public as a top priority. The Action Plan in the Sixmilebridge Town Centre First Plan calls out the need for feasibility studies to be undertaken for community infrastructure to ensure it keeps pace with residential population growth.”
She said the Council will get in touch with the Department of Education on the issue. “Census 2022 details have been published and currently the ‘Draft First Revision to the National Planning Framework is at public consultation phase. These provide the most up to details as regards the population profile of the county which should be the basis of a renewed engagement with the Department of Education regarding the provision of adequate post primary school places across the county. To this end the Council will now write to the Department of Education to commence further engagement.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.