GMIT bosses told 'a hurricane is heading their way' over Mayo campus downgrading
THE MAYO GMIT Action Group has issued a strong message to Dr. Fergal Barry, president of GMIT, at today's protest rally in Castlebar to highlight concerns over the ongoing downgrading of the third level facility in the county.
A total of five courses have been cut ahead of the 2017/18 academic year while 15 staff have been told they are being redeployed.
The building itself is also falling into disrepair and a net is erected to prevent tiles from a leaking roof falling on passers-by.
Harry Barrett, a member of the action group, said Dr. Barry may regard the difficulties in Castlebar as a mere 'storm in a teacup'.
But the reality is that a hurricane is heading in his and the GMIT Governing Body's direction over the issue.
The Fine Gael party in Mayo boycotted the rally despite its elected representatives being invited to explain what progress they were making to save the college and sign a pledge supporting the campus.
The party adopted a similar approach to a public meeting held in the town a number of week ago.
Since then, Education Minister Richard Bruton visited the centre and announced the establishment of a working group to plan the future of the facility, a move rejected by the action group as a delaying tactic.
Councillor Al McDonnell (FF), cathaoirleach, Mayo County Council, called on the 15 staff selected for redeployment to stand together and refuse to leave.
“We are behind you 100 per cent and it's important that you take a firm position in this issue,” he said.
Councillor McDonnell said the council asked GMIT for the use of the Castlebar college to hold a statutury meeting at the Castlebar facility in order to debate the problems there, but the council was told accommodation was not available for such a meeting.
“This is a life or death issue for the education sector in Mayo and we have to treat it as such. The protest does not end here,” he added.
Councillor Michael Kilcoyne (Ind.), cathaoirleach, Castlebar Municipal District, said the political reality is that Fianna Fáil is keeping Fine Gael in government.
He said if the party is serious about saving the Mayo GMIT Campus, it should be prepared to bring down the government if an allocation to rescue the Castlebar college and grant it its own budget is not provided for in next October's budget.
Other speakers included Deputy Lisa Chambers (FF), Senator Rose Conway-Walsh (SF) and Joe Daly (People Before Profit), and Eoin Heverin and Celine King of the Mayo GMIT Action Group.
The attendance at Market Square, estimated in the region of 500 people, included MEP 'Ming' Flanagan and 1994 Mayo West Mayo RTC by-election candidate Paddy McGuinness.
All elected representatives in attendance were asked to sign a pledge to commit to continuing to fight against cuts to courses, seek sufficient Exchequer ring-fenced funding to support growth and provision of real diversity in courses offered at Mayo Campus, ensure parity of esteem among GMIT campus to Mayo and the election of a minimum of four representatives on the GMIT Governing Body as a short term objective.
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