Children at Presentation Senior School waiting to clear the road and get in to the school at a busy time of the day.

Councillors clash with executive over call for school warden

Published: Fri 19 Dec 2025, 1:00 PM

Councillors in the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District have rowed in strongly behind a motion calling for the appointment of a school warden to cater for children attending Presentation Senior School in Mullingar – but the district executive is against the proposal, concerned about establishing “a precedent”.

The proposal that led to a heated debate came from Cllr Andrew Duncan, who expressed grave concern about the safety of youngsters arriving at and leaving the school each day.

The official written response provided by the executive stated that there is a signalised crossing in place there, designed to current standards.

However, it listed four additional safety measures in the pipeline. These include the installation of pencil bollards in the first quarter of 2026 and the provision of Active Travel Infrastructure on Harbour Street in the third quarter of next year.

Also suggested was that the school apply to be included in the Safe Routes to School Programme when it reopens to new applications, and the response concluded by stating that the road safety officer was available to liaise with the principal in relation to road safety education.

Cllr Duncan reacted by stating that while all those measures were welcome, the response went nowhere towards answering his query on whether a traffic warden could be appointed.

Support came from Cllr Ken Glynn, who has discussed the issue with the school principal, who has told him that the issue is at its most acute during the 15-20 minutes of school collection time.

He said that like Cllr Duncan, he felt there should be a school warden present, at least for the period when children were being picked up.

“I think that’s what the parents association asked for,” he said, before going on to suggest that the district meet with the school management on site as soon as possible to arrive at a solution.

Also in support of the motion were Cllr Bill Collentine, and Cllr Julie McCourt, who counselled against putting off a decision to when an accident happens.

The mayor, Cllr Mick Dollard, admitted he was somewhat taken aback that the response did not confirm that the warden position could be reinstated.

“There’s actually no reason why it can’t be reinstated. I don’t know what kind of funding we’re talking about, but for me, without doubt, road safety and the safety of pedestrians will always be of paramount importance,” he said.

Cllr Dollard said when he originally heard that the warden role was not being continued, he thought it was down to a problem with manpower, but he had since learned there was a list of people keen to do the job.

Continuing, he reminded members that the council had some years earlier put in a pedestrian bridge beside the narrow Harbour Bridge. He pointed out that St Brigid’s School is near Presentation.

“So, you know, no matter director, where you get the money from, I think as councillors we have to demand that the school warden be replaced.”

Director of services, Deirdre Reilly, confirmed that there had been a school warden at Presentation School who had been replaced by the traffic signals now in place.

“I also believe, from observations at the school, that a lot of this situation is a result of the way that people are parking their vehicles and just dropping their children off,” she said, explaining that parents are parking illegally and children are just running across the road to school.

Explaining that when the new measures come into place, parents won’t be stopping on the main road, but will be using the cinema car park. She said the issue was not one of funding, but more of precedence, in that there are no schools with both signalised pedestrian crossings and school wardens, and it was not a precedent the council wished to set.

However, she said, she would come back to the members on the issue after meeting with the school to see if it was satisfied with the four-point solution outlined in the response provided to Cllr Duncan.

Cllr Duncan wasn’t happy with the reluctance to set a precedent, and pointed out that not alone are parents dropping children at Presentation, but also at the nearby Loreto College. Referring to the district’s suggestion that the road safety officer was available to liaise with the principal in relation to road safety education, he felt that would have little value when an issue was that parents are often in a hurry dropping their children to school.

“The only thing that’s capable of solving the problem is [if] somebody can spot the issue before it arises and mitigate straight away,” he said.

Cllr Glynn was also dubious about how well-received the suggestion of “education” on traffic for the school would be. “I’m sure they’re fairly well tuned in,” he said.

Cllr Glynn went on to say that while he understood the executive was making an effort to try to resolve the issue, “we’re clearly telling you we do not support what you’re suggesting. We want to see a warden back in at finish time, because that’s what the school management is asking, that’s what the parents association is asking and that resolves the issue.”

Cllr Denis Leonard stated that he and Cllr Aoife Davitt had had a motion approved some time ago proposing that a safety audit be conducted at all the schools in the county and look at a safety plan for each. He added that he was of the view that the physical presence of a school warden couldn’t be beaten.

Cllr David Jones said he would always have believed that if a child ran out on the road it was the parent’s fault – until he became a parent himself and saw his own five-and-a-half-year-old run on to a national road as he, David, held his younger child in his arms.

As Cllr Dollard said, it was unconscionable that the warden role not be reinstated.

Ms Reilly said she respected the views of the councillors and would return to them on the issue after a meeting was held with the school principal.

She repeated that she could not give a commitment as it related to the employment of an individual, and that was an executive function.