Sir, - On October 8th I brought a group of 35 North inner-city Dublin boys to a show at The Ark. It was an enjoyable day and we all returned safely. Some of the money spent was from our "Breaking the cycle" budget. However, on returning to the school I discovered my car was stolen. I was told later that it was used in a drugs-related robbery in Lucan. None of the individuals was local.
I write to tell you this story because in the same week our Minister for Education and Science informed the media that some inner-city schools had too many resources. Over the summer period he removed a teaching position in our school. He reduced the staffing despite the fact that our numbers are higher than this time last year. When the talks were going on in June I was attending the funerals of past pupils. We had two drugs-related deaths in a 10-day period. All the community and voluntary groups pleaded with the Minister to save the job. He and senior officials ignored the pleas.
It's time the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Martin, came to live in the real world. Instead of cutting services he should be expanding them to ensure that all our children get justice. - Yours, etc.,
Finian McGrath (Principal),
Scoil Plas Mhuire BNS,
Dorset Street,
Dublin 1.