Parents may sue State in school buildings scandal
Solicitor says legal action possible as students wait
PARENTS of children forced out of school due to health and safety flaws could sue the State, it has emerged.
A solicitor said action could be taken after pupils at three Dublin facilities were told they would be left without education until a solution to the problem is found.
Around 1,200 school kids are now sitting at home after the buildings were found to be at risk of collapse in a major storm as their walls are not properly secured. The finding was made during a structural assessment carried out by the State. The company responsible for the buildings, Western Buildings Systems, say initially the structures were found fully compliant and it is seeking documents from the Department of Education which outline the basis for their decision. St Luke’s and Educate Together National School in Tyrellstown as well as Ardgillan Community College were due to close for mid-term – but a further closure may be on the cards.
Meanwhile, solicitor Jody Cantillon said the Government must bear the responsibility of depriving the children of the constitutional right to education. He told Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show: “This is a negligence on the part of the State for failing to inspect and ensure the schools are safe and fit for purpose.
“It was responsible for ensuring these schools were built to an appropriate standard, they are responsible for providing education and they failed in that.
“If you think of the students who are focusing on their exams and they’re being uprooted from their schools and they’re being told, ‘We don’t know how to solve the problem, and we are trying to solve the problem but we don’t know how long it’s going to be’.”
A SOLICITOR reckons some parents could seek payouts if their children have to miss lessons due to shoddy school buildings.
Around 1,200 pupils are now sitting at home after their facilities were found to be at risk of collapsing.
However, if parents sue it will be the taxpayer who pays for others’ incompentencies.
The company responsible for the structures say they were fully compliant but the whole fiasco is a shameful embarrassment.
The Government’s failure to ensure these buildings were safe is an indictment on their duty to provide education for our children.