‘Segregation in Education’

Today the New York Times invites readers to a national conversation about immigration and its consequences, something everybody hides from here in Ireland. The first article, to be published this weekend, will report on a Virginia school district that segregates students who are the children of immigrants, and who don’t speak English well, to make it easier to give them intensive support.

When Fine Gael Education Spokesperson Brian Hayes made a similar suggestion last August he was supported by the secondary teachers union ASTI but others used it as an excuse to jump up and down and brand him a racist. He later issued a statement regretting the use of the term ‘segregation’ and there the debate in Ireland ended.

Except at the school gate of course. With cutbacks now in language support teachers there is growing resentment that it is the English speaking children that will lose out as classes get larger and slower.

Brian insisted he was motivated by concern both for the migrant children who were being “left behind” and for the many parents who were frustrated at the effect the lack of segregation was having on the education of their english speaking children in their preparations for Junior and Leaving Certificate exams. The Government meanwhile is hiding behind three major research studies into the teaching of immigrant children in our schools and as you'd expect these are not due to report anytime soon. Join the NYT debate here.

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‘Mulhuddart/Clonsilla area shortchanged in Council Annual Works Plan – Dennison’

Dublin West Fine Gael Representative Kieran Dennison has hit out at the poor deal the Mulhuddart Area has received from the 2008 Council Works Programme.

Two thirds of the package worth €3.9m will be spent in Castleknock and only one third in the Mulhuddart electoral area. Mr. Dennison, who has just been appointed one of the party’s local representatives in the area, says he “felt that local Councillors had failed the Mulhuddart Ward and had some explaining to do”.

Of the 26 Special Roads Contribution Schemes totalling €1.1million, only 4 are in Mulhuddart with a spend of €135,000. Castleknock will benefit from 18 footpath improvement schemes as against 11 for the Mulhuddart Electoral Area. Similarly, 2 of the 3 new pedestrian crossings will be provided in the Castleknock area along with 7 of the 10 new lighting projects. Of the 9 Flood Relief projects only 2 will be in Mulhuddart.

Under the Parks Program the Council will spend €183,000 in Castleknock on improvements to open spaces such as railings, footpaths and lighting and provision of new playgrounds leaving a measly €50,000 for all of Mulhuddart, Clonsilla, Ongar, Tyrrellstown and Clonee.

Kieran Dennison asked “where were the FF and left wing Mulhuddart Councillors when this largesse was being handed out”. He noted that a Castleknock Councillor was quoted in a recent issue of Community Voice as “being very pleased with the programme as it contains a large number of projects that I have sought funding for”. He said that “while the roads and footpaths in Castleknock were getting higher and higher from resurfacing, residents in Mulhuddart had to settle for broken pavements and endure gridlock from outdated signalling at traffic lights. Meanwhile another €100,000 is being allocated to ‘look into’ changing the wasteful one way system on the Clonsilla Road”

At €3.9 million the Castleknock/Mulhuddart area received the lowest allocation from the total of €13.3 million the Council will spend on the Scheme in its Local Areas. This is in spite of the fact that the area generates the greater proportion of Fingal’s income. In a parting shot Dennison added “It seems that areas with a Fine Gael Councillor such as Castleknock, Malahide and Swords are getting much better representation, perhaps it’s time Mulhuddart had one as well”.

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