Frances Fitzgerald

Local Senator Frances Fitzgerald has lashed out at the Government for its failure to deliver for the people of Lucan.

“Parents and children from right across Lucan are preparing to go back to school and yet again await a situation where Lucan children can be offered places in Lucan schools,” said Fine Gael’s Frances Fitzgerald.

“There is a real school places crisis in Lucan. Parents from right across Lucan have been in touch with me over the failure of this Government to deliver adequate local resources for their children. A child living in Cannonbrook, for example, may be faced with the situation where they will quite literally have to walk past the school gates of their nearest Second Level School and take a bus to a different parish,” explained Senator Frances Fitzgerald

Last month a publicity stunt organised by the Union of Students of Ireland was a poignant reminder of the lasting effects of a ‘brain drain’. The body which represents third level students nationwide chose the replica famine ship The Jeanie Johnston as the location for their photo shoot which depicted doctors, lawyers, nurses, teachers and office staff board the ship in what people are now acknowledging as a ‘brain drain’.

Commenting on the campaign local Senator for Frances Fitzgerald said their stunt ‘certainly captured the public mood and grave reality for families in Lucan, Clondalkin, Palmerstown and further afield’.

“I meet parents in Lucan and Clondalkin every week who tell me their son or daughter has left Ireland in search of work elsewhere. Over 68,000 graduates are unemployed and month on month we are seeing a growth in the number of young people unemployed. It is estimated that 200,000 people will emigrate from Ireland in the next five years. Highly skilled, highly trained graduates are being forced to put their talents to use in other countries. Australia, New Zealand and Canada are benefiting from our home-grown talents. There they will be joining young apprentices and tradesmen wounded by the toppling of the developer’s house of cards,” said Senator Frances Fitzgerald.

“Parents are watching, powerlessly, as their son or daughter - some of our brightest and our best board planes. This Government is failing them. It is failing to provide them with opportunities and it is failing to provide them with a rescue plan for our economy,” continued Frances Fitzgerald.

“Fine Gael has detailed how we can create jobs and how we can get things back on track but so long as this Government continues in power, in spite of the will of the people, we won’t have the chance to enact that plan. It’s time the Government showed us theirs or stepped aside and let the people decide who is best to lead them out of this mess,” concluded Frances Fitzgerald.