Boycott of rat-infested school to continue
Children boycotting a Co Cork school where rats infested a classroom are to maintain their protest, it was revealed today.
Alarmed parents are refusing to send them to the small rural Rahan National School, near Mallow, after rodent droppings and urine were discovered in 20-year-old "temporary" rooms last week.
Mothers and fathers at the primary blamed the Department of Education for a three-year delay to plans for a new development and have vowed to keep up their demonstration until proper accommodation is built.
Principal Jerry Lynch said: "It isn't something you would expect in the 21st Century."
Tom O'Brady, whose son Michael, aged nine, attends the school, said: "Because the buildings are temporary and old it is very easy for rats to make their home there.
"We blame the Department (of Education) for allowing this to develop. We have seen years of neglect here."
He said parents would not send their children to the school until new classrooms had been built.
"There have been temporary buildings in use for 23 years, they are rotting away and the rats decided to move in," he added.
Children will be invited back tomorrow, after last week's closure from Wednesday to Friday.
Pest control officers have cleaned the entire area but families are still preventing pupils' return amid ongoing health fears.
The school houses 91 children, who spend six years out of eight in so-called pre-fabricated buildings.
Mr Lynch admitted: "The parents are fairly fed up and want the Department to move on our application for a new and better school.
"You would not expect this but I would argue we are not the only school, there must be other schools out there, probably in the same position.
"It was a shock to us, that is why we had to take the action we did last week."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Education said an application for funding had been received.
"An application for capital funding towards the provision of a new school has been received from the school authorities," she said.
"The building project required is being considered in the context of the School Building and Modernisation Programme."
Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris said: "It is disgraceful that children and teachers should have to spend their school time in such atrocious conditions.
"And it is a sad commentary on the priorities of this Government that action has not already been taken to replace the rat infested prefabricated structures with proper classrooms."
