The following email was sent to all Councillors this - TopicsExpress

The following email was sent to all Councillors this afternoon. Dear Councillor, This will be our final plea to you on behalf of our children who attend Gaelscoil na Giúise in Firhouse, ahead of Thursday’s Council vote to dispose of land upon which the Dept. of Education can build a permanent building for our school. We have spent the last number of weeks attempting to address concerns and misinformation which has gripped the locality. We have a great deal of respect for our neighbours, those who have built a thriving Firhouse over almost 50 years. There are people for whom Firhouse means Scoil Treasa, Morton’s Pub, and Firhouse Carmel FC. They were educated in Scoil Carmel, so were their children, and potentially their grandchildren. We get it, and we understand. Anything which threatens to disrupt this narrative might be something to fear. Firhouse began a new chapter 20 years ago. The Killininny Road was created from nothing, and thousands of houses in new Firhouse estates were built below it. New young families arrived, and for them Firhouse meant Scholars Pub, and access to the M50. Unfortunately it also meant uncertainty around primary school choices and places for their children. Finding themselves living in Firhouse, but outside particular Parish borders, nothing was a given. This is because the only thing that was built were houses. No new schools. Just houses. It is time to write the end of that chapter. The creation of Gaelscoil na Giúise and Firhouse Educate Together addresses a serious deficit. In one fell swoop the bulging population of the wider Firhouse area, old and new, gets both the primary school capacity it needs, as well as the choices of ethos which young parents have been crying out for over the last decade. This isn’t welcome by all, and everyone has their own personal reasons for it. Fear, uncertainty, doubt. These are all natural reactions and emotions, but they should not hold back absolutely necessary progress, no matter how many people express them. We have addressed with reason and fact every single point of objection we have come across. We have shared these with you. We do this not to dismiss the neighbours who live among us, but to address their concerns. Address, not dismiss. We have shown that the fear that exists around the football pitch, the availability of green space, the traffic, and a multitude of other points are without foundation. The volume of objections doesnt anywhere near tally with the small number of people using the greens. We must therefore ask that objections which continue to be raised on those points are discounted. The number of objections is almost irrelevant if they are on a point of misunderstanding or misinformation. They have been addressed, not dismissed. The schools are not here to detract from the community. They are here to add to it, to revitalise it, to provide it with new focus. They will provide a new cohesion to the heart of Firhouse, bringing new opportunities for the sports clubs, Community Centres, and commercial activities that currently surround the site in question. The existing green space, which in reality gets very little use apart from the football club (which is not unduly affected by these proposals), will gain from a new playground and car park, making it a much more attractive space for families to enjoy than it ever has been. Matched funding from the Council for all weather pitches will bring a facility that many communities would give their eye teeth for. The schools will be placed in the most optimal site in the area, giving the best opportunity for children from any estate to walk or cycle to school. Above all else, the schools will provide an education to literally thousands of Firhouse children over the next number of decades. They will allow the area to cope locally with the increase in population which is expected and projected based on child benefit and census data, instead of having to ship our children out each morning. Firhouse finally has it’s own Gaelscoil. No longer will Firhouse parents continue to have to face the year after year disappointment of continued rejection from the nearest Gaelscoil, in Knocklyon. Sometimes forgotten as this issue is discussed is the fact that the schools are already here. They were formed 2 years ago, and have intakes near capacity for 2015. They are Firhouse schools, and they need their home in Firhouse. We urge you to think carefully upon these proposals. Read the planners reports, understand the background and the need. Recognise that this process has already taken more than two years because of public consultation. Listen to the community, hear what they have to say on all sides. Compare what they are saying to the points of misinformation we have addressed. Has it been covered? Does the objection really merit a voting down of these proposals? Is there a better proposal? Will anything be achieved by exploring alternatives again at this stage, in spite of the exhaustive process to date? No. This is not bad planning, this is good planning. We attach a comprehensive analysis of the objections you have received from a local Residents Association by way of example. In addition we attach an information sheet outlining the main points of misinformation we have addressed to date, as well as an information sheet outlining some of the main benefits the school will bring. For the sake of all concerned, but primarily the children of Gaelscoil an Giúise and Firhouse Educate Together, please resolve this part of the process on Thursday and let’s move on to planning and building the new schools that Firhouse is really crying out for. Regards, Fionnuala Ní Riain, Principal Marcus Ó’Léanacháin, Chairman of the Board of Management Jonathan Lundberg, Cumann na dTuismitheoiri on behalf of all parents