Letter to the Editor,
There will be several school and after-school care centres across Ireland closing down on the 7th of June, which falls on a Friday, to pave way for local and European elections. Unfortunately, this school day will not be rescheduled and the childcare facilities will still charge for this day even though the children won’t be in attendance. This places significant pressure on working parents, who deserve much better than this. Out of the 27 countries participating in the forthcoming vote, only Ireland and the Netherlands have scheduled their elections during the week, while the remaining 25 countries will be voting over the weekend.
It is high time the Government took a cue from these countries and organised a viable plan to avert more school and childcare closures in light of the impending general election. If 25 European Union nations can arrange their voting sessions over the weekend, surely we can do the same.
Kind regards,
Siobhán McDermott,
Killester,
Dublin 5.