In response to the announcement that St. Mary's School for Vision Impaired Girls in Merrion will close tomorrow, the National Council for the Blind of Ireland is calling on the Department of Education and Science to find a viable alternative for the provision of education for vision impaired girls this September.

Speaking today, Des Kenny, Chief Executive of the National Council for the Blind of Ireland (NCBI) praised the Sisters of Charity for their many years of service. "The Sisters are to be commended for their commitment and dedication in this field, and we would like to mark the closure of the school with such recognition and respect, and more than a little sadness at the passing of such a tradition."

NCBI appreciates that the Sisters of Charity have long expressed their belief that the special educational provision for vision impaired girls should be joined to that of boys in a co-educational setting. Doing so would ensure that a high standard of provision and services could be guaranteed. However, while the Rosminian Fathers agreed in principle to take on the co-education of girls onto its campus in Drumcondra, this agreement was conditional on the provision of a centre of excellence, the scale of which the Department of Education found to be excessive.

Des Kenny argued that something that should be straightforward - the education of girls with vision impairments - had become unnecessarily complex. "Having served on the working group that planned for the provision of special educational services into the future, I am well aware of the legitimate concerns of all involved, parents and providers alike. It is the lack of response of the Department in dealing with the closure of St. Mary which has been flagged for many years and postponed a number of times by the Sisters which has created this vacuum. Minister Dempsey must address this as a matter of urgency."

ENDS

Monday 23 June 2003

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