A national school in Co Galway remained closed today after parents in the settled community refused to send their children because of the enrollment of nine pupils from the Travelling community.
Ballinruane school near Menlough Co Galway, which previously had 12 pupils, was due to re-open last Monday but families from the settled community have objected to the presence of nine Traveller children. One told RTE newsthere was a disproportionate level of Traveller to settled community children.
Talks involving the parents, Travellers and the Department of Education continued today with the Department saying in a statement it was doing everything it could to resolve the problem.
Mr Gareth O Riain of the Travellers’ rights group Pavee Point called on the Department to "hold the line" on the enrollment of the children.
"Travellers’ children have a right to an education as much as any other child and if settled parents don’t their children to go to that school because there are Travellers in it, then that is their prerogative," he said.
A similar situation arose last May in Co Limerick when settled children where withdrawn from a school in Rathkeale because a programme of integrating Traveller children in to the classroom.