This article is from page 10 of the 2011-09-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 10 JPG
THE Department of Education stands indicted of hitting the Clare economy where it matters most in the pockets of tourism interests around the county owing to the controversy surrounding the early return to school for many from both inside and outside the county.
That was the verdict delivered by Councillor Gabriel Keating as he demanded that the Minister for Education Ruairi Quinn revise the school holiday period so that families with children can remain at resorts until the end of August.
“Efforts to extend the tourism season in Clare are being thwarted by schools re-opening in August,” claimed Cllr Keating.
“Tourism is the backbone of many of our local communities with an estimated 3,000 people employed in the industry here in the county and it’s up to the Minister for Education to realise this,” he added.
The west Clare councillor pointed out the irony of the fact that the Government is talking about creating jobs – yet at the same time giving the imprimatur to the Department of Education to effectively put paid to thousands of jobs.
“One of the few areas which creates employment during the summer season especially for students who rely on this income to pay for their schools costs is tourism. The early return of those students to schools is threatening the survival of many of these tourism employers,” said Cllr Keating.
“Over the past two years the inclement weather and the recession has taken its toll on seaside destinations. For many tourism providers to survive they need to extend the tourist season not shorten it. That is why the early return of students to School in August is having such a big impact on them.
“Heretofore, families would remain on in places like Kilkee, Doonbeg and Quilty until the last week of August. Now, they are packing up around August 14 or 15, because they have to head back to get the children ready to return to School. Not reopening schools until the first week in September would give a welcome break to the tourism providers in the county,” he added.