Sinn Féin local election candidate for the Ballyragget electoral area, Ray Quinlan, has announced that the closure of Galmoy mine may have some positive effects for schools in the area.
Computers and other IT equipment is to be donated to the National Schools in Crossspatrick, Galmoy, and Johnstown once the factory has shut down according to Mr Quinlan.
Following a recent meeting which Mr Quinlan had with Stefan Mansson of Galmoy Mines, Mr Mansson agreed to donate computers and other IT equipment from the mine to the schools in the area once the mine has closed.
Mr Quinlan said “this is a wonderful opportunity for the schools to increase their quantity of computers and to allow the pupils to get more computer time to broaden their education.
“The provision of this equipment will be a great boon to the staff and pupils of the schools, which are inadequately funded and are finding themselves increasingly reliant on the generosity of the local population.”
Mr Quinlan continued, “as a parent, and through my activities with the Parents’ Council of Johnstown NS, I have seen at first hand the difficulties faced by the management of the schools in the provision of facilities and equipment that every other country in Western Europe would take for granted. It saddens me to think that the people who are leading this state are already failing the next generation by failing to invest sufficient funding into the primary education system.
“I thank Mr Mansson for his commitment to provide this equipment, and for his agreement to provide other equipment to locally based community groups in the near future as these items become available.
“It’s a terrible tragedy to be losing so many jobs in the north west Kilkenny area, and many people, myself included, are facing a very uncertain future, but, thankfully, some good has come from it as a result of this gesture of goodwill.”
