Pictured: Cllr Jimmy Brogan
Efforts to halt the relocation of the Donegal Education Support Centre from Donegal Town took another step forward at a public meeting last night.
Another packed meeting heard cross-party support for a reversal of the decision to move the centre, and its staff, to Letterkenny after 27 years in Donegal Town.
While the contracts have been signed for the centre’s move to Mountain Top this spring, there are serious concerns for the impact this move will have on staff and teaching community.
Six administration staff are at the heart of the issue. They have been offered a hybrid model to work no more than three days per week in Letterkenny.
However, public representatives have spoken out on behalf of staff to highlight the reality of the situation, which they claim may force some to give up their jobs.
Independent Councillor Jimmy Brogan said: “If you have to be in Letterkenny in the morning, it’s an hour and a half’s drive from Donegal Town, you are looking at the wear and tear of your car and €50 diesel and those staff are getting nothing for it, the reality is they are going to lose their jobs.”
Concerns have also been raised regarding two staff members whose jobs are affected by the relocation of the local archives of the National Induction Programme to Dublin.
The meeting heard that teachers also stand to be impacted by proposed changes to Donegal Education Centre’s outreach services. The suggestion that local outreach centres will no longer be used for training and resources will force all teachers to travel to Letterkenny for training in the future, it was also claimed.
Cllr Brogan said that many teachers are unaware of this potential impact, particularly as many training sessions are held in the evenings after school hours.
Cllr Brogan said it’s vital that anyone impacted by the move attends the Donegal Education Centre’s upcoming AGM on 26th March.
“We need to get teachers there,” Cllr Brogan said. Only teachers with Teaching Council numbers are eligible to register.
Cllr Brogan stressed the importance of teachers voicing their views as time ticks closer to the moving date.
When pressed on the issues by Sinn Féin Deputy Pearse Doherty, the Minister for Education Helen McEntee said her department “continues to encourage the DESC to act on the issues affecting staff members during this relocation, and any arrangements being made for same.”
Cllr Brogan said: “It sort of is a done deal. The only person who can change this now is the Minister for Education and she seems to be washing her hands of it. She is washing her hands of the six women who work at the centre and the businesses in Donegal Town. The six women are the most important thing.”
Among the speakers at last night’s meeting were Sinn Féin representatives Cllr Noel Jordan and Deputy Pearse Doherty. Commenting afterwards, Doherty TD said: “Plans are in place to move this centre with complete disregard for staff’s concerns. Sinn Féin oppose this move and plead again with Government to listen to the concerns of staff.”
In a previous statement, the Donegal Education Support Centre Management Committee centre said that the decision to relocate from Donegal Town to the Glenview Business Park in Letterkenny this Spring was made in consultation with staff and stakeholders.
The statement issued in February is as follows:
Staff consultation began at the outset of the review process when, on 30th November 2023, all staff met with the full Management Committee to discuss the future of in-person services, including the potential relocation of the centre. In February 2024, staff were informed that a comprehensive consultation process had commenced, and in March, they were invited to participate in a survey on the proposed relocation. However, the majority of staff declined to engage. Despite this, we remained committed to ensuring that staff perspectives were fully considered throughout the process.
On 8th May 2024, in response to the low participation in the survey, the Management Committee arranged a direct meeting with staff to listen to their concerns. Further engagement took place on 17th June 2024, when we met with staff and representatives from Fórsa to outline the rationale for potential relocation. During this meeting, we acknowledged staff concerns and developed a Hybrid Working Model (60/40) to provide flexibility and support. Under this model, no staff member is required to be on-site more than three days per week, with remote working options available. Staff on reduced hours may only have to travel twice a week and during school holidays, staff may only have to travel one or two days a week to work. Staff are able to choose their preferred remote working days, and additional flexibility is provided through staggered start and finish times, as well as time-in-lieu (for every additional hour worked they receive 2 hours) arrangements. This model ensures that no staff member is required to travel daily to the new location and that their jobs are not at risk.
Since January 2025, the Management Committee has made repeated efforts to meet with staff and Fórsa to discuss individual circumstances and to accommodate personal needs. However, despite extending several invitations, this has not happened, but we are hoping this meeting will occur soon. It is therefore deeply frustrating to hear suggestions that there has been no consultation when every effort has been made to engage in meaningful dialogue.
The decision to relocate the Centre was not made lightly. One of the main concerns of the financial budget was the unsustainable cost of using external venues. DESC incurs such high external venue costs. The relocation to Glenview Business Park in Letterkenny will significantly reduce these costs, allowing us to redirect essential funding towards core educational programmes such as Oide training days, TL21, The Incredible Years, Meitheal, Creative Clusters, etc programmes that directly benefit teachers and students across Donegal.
Accessibility was another key consideration. Letterkenny’s central location ensures that educators from all four corners of Donegal—north, south, east, and west—can access high-quality professional development without the added burden of excessive travel. Teachers in South Donegal will now be equidistant between two education centres—Letterkenny and Sligo—both of which are approximately 45 minutes away. For years, school leaders and educators have highlighted the challenges of travelling to Donegal Town. By relocating, we are ensuring that all teachers, regardless of where they are based, have equal access to CPD opportunities.
This move is about ensuring that every student, regardless of their location, receives the best possible education. The Management Committee is committed to supporting all teachers in Donegal in their professional development, and by extension, ensuring that children across the county have access to the highest standard of teaching. It is unacceptable to suggest that children in North Donegal and Inishowen should be deprived of equal access to professional development opportunities due to location constraints. Every Principal, Teacher and SNA in Donegal deserves the same high-quality professional training and development, and this relocation is a necessary step in ensuring that DESC can serve everyone equitably.
The Management Committee is disappointed by the ongoing attempts to misrepresent this process and mislead the public. Every effort has been made to consult with staff, and every attempt to engage Fórsa in constructive dialogue since January has been delayed. The claim that staff were not consulted is simply false. The reality is that DESC has worked tirelessly to ensure that staff voices were heard, that a flexible hybrid working model was developed in response to concerns, and that no staff member will lose their job as a result of this relocation.
We want to make it abundantly clear that our priority remains the educational welfare of all students and teachers in Donegal. We have consulted extensively with staff since November 2023, developed a flexible working model in response to their concerns, and made every effort to meet with Fórsa, since early January 2025. The relocation ensures that educators from all parts of the county can benefit from professional learning in a purpose-built, fully accessible centre, ultimately improving outcomes for students. The Management Committee believes that this will benefit the entire educational community across Donegal for years to come.
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