The Minister for Education has been branded a 'disgrace' for refusing to meet with Athlone Councillors to discuss issues in the area.
The April meeting of the local Municipal District was told that Norma Foley "regretfully" had to decline an invitation to meet with local Councillors to discuss issues around the provision of future education in the town.
Athlone is a designated centre of growth and over 2,000 homes are due to be built in the town in the coming years with its population expected to grow significantly in the next ten years.
Councillor John Dolan says the Minister's response is unacceptable.
"She has to remember that she’s not just Minister for Education for Kerry, she’s Minister for Education for the country, and I just wonder if there was a an opening of a school and she was invited to it, would she come up that.
That thought just crossed my mind, I mean I think it’s really unbelievable that a Minister will not engage with the locality."
