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Parents of children at Adair National School in Fermoy have angrily alleged discrimination against their small Church of Ireland school. Photo: 123RF

Parents of children at Adair National School in Fermoy have angrily alleged discrimination against their small Church of Ireland school after the town council failed to give them a commitment to install ramps outside it to slow traffic.

A deputation of members of the parents' association along with a member of the board of management attended a meeting of the Traffic Management Sub-committee of the Town Council on Wednesday to press their case for ramps to be installed. They had previously attended meetings of the Fermoy Electoral Area of the County Council and Fermoy Town Council to raise their serious concerns in relation to the safety of pupils attending the school.

The streets around the school have seen an increase in traffic in the past number of months as motorists used it as 'a rat run' to avoid traffic congestion as a result of the flood relief works.

"There's been two near misses," one member of the parents' group told The Avondhu after Wednesday's meeting. He said it was hard not to draw the conclusion that, as a Church of Ireland school, they are being discriminated against as it's the only local school that doesn't have speed ramps outside.

"Why is it the only school? Our children are as important as those in others schools. Are we not worth two ramps?" another angry parent asked.

They were told that the street wasn't suitable for ramps. Warning signs, a safety barrier at the school entrance and rumble strips to slow traffic were suggested instead. "They are prepared to spend money on those but not to put ramps in," one frustrated parent said. Another said the proposed safety barrier couldn't be installed because it would block the only entrance into the school in emergency situations.

When the matter was raised at a previous town council meeting, it was suggested by a councillor that local residents there wouldn't be in favour of the ramps. The parents' association in response, got a petition with 39 signatories of residents who weren't against them.

"39 out of 40 (that were surveyed) don't mind, we think that says a lot," one of the parents pointed out. They had the support at the meeting of councillors Noel McCarthy and Tadhg O'Donovan who argued for the ramps to be installed without delay.

Cllr O'Donovan pointed out that ramps were installed on a temporary basis in Devlin Street a while ago and it's now been decided to put down permanent ones. The temporary ones are being removed and could be easily, and with little cost, put down outside the school. It's understood they also had the support of councillors Michael Hanley, John Murphy and Frank O'Flynn at the meeting.

Mayor Olive Corcoran however was in favour of waiting until after a survey suggested by the council to get a clearer picture of the situation. It was proposed by council officials that traffic be monitored there for two months and a report presented on it to their January meeting.

Area engineer Brendan O'Gorman did say that the only way to slow traffic was to use ramps. He also was of the view that speed limits generally near schools around the county should be reduced.

In the end it was decided to monitor the traffic situation and report back in January, a decision that did not go down at all well with the concerned parents who have vowed to fight on.

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