Parents protesting against the proposed enrolment of Traveller children at a Co Galway national school kept their children at home again yesterday, although the Traveller families have moved out of the area.
Classrooms have remained empty at St Joseph's National School, Ballinruane, in Menlough, since Wednesday because of objections to plans to enrol nine Traveller children there.
The Traveller families, who are all named Ward and include a widowed mother of nine, left the area due to the boycott and are hoping to get their children into a school in Tuam. They were disappointed at the reaction of the other parents.
They had moved to Galway at the start of the summer from Dunleer, Co Louth, where their children had been attending school without any such problems.
Negotiations are continuing between the school's board of management, parents and the Department of Education and the school's 12 pupils are expected to return on Monday.
The parents were concerned about the impact such a high ratio of Traveller pupils would have on the school.
East Galway TD Mr Ulick Burke said every child was entitled to an education but the enrolment of the Traveller children at Ballinruane had not been properly thought out and prepared.
He said: "The impact on the existing students would be difficult enough to cater for but the school also does not have the usual back-up services for the disadvantaged, such as remedial teachers and resources. It's not just simply saying `no' because they are Travellers. The school management would have to put in place a whole series of back-up requirements."
Mr Burke said he hoped the situation would be satisfactorily resolved and said it was unfortunate that it had arisen in the way it did.
"It's difficult for the Department of Education, the parents and school management, as well as the families involved," he commented.
The school's two teachers have continued to show up for class every day this week, even though some parents kept their children home on Monday and Tuesday and the classrooms have been empty since Wednesday.
