All candidates in the General Election must pledge to reverse the cuts to the DEIS Rural Co-ordinators if elected to government.
This is the view of Sinn Féin Galway West candidate Trevor Ó Clochartaigh, who was speaking following the announcement of the cuts.
Mr Ó Clochartaigh has described the cuts as “a very short term saving which will have devastating long term implications if implemented”.
He said the cuts will leave many children who are in danger of falling out of the education system “without essential support” and this will create “social problems which will come back to haunt us”.
“This is another attack on education and rural life,” says Mr Ó Clochartaigh. “It shows the attitude of the larger parties in our country, that the more vulnerable people in our society are put under pressure in times of fiscal restraint.”
