STAFF at St Catherine’s College for Education for Home Economics in Blackrock were left reeling last week with news that the 90-year-old facility is to close despite an investment of e1.5 million.

Teachers and pupils said they were shocked and saddened when Minister for Education and Science, Noel Dempsey, announced that the college on Sion Hill would close.

The closure is to be phased over four years to allow students currently enrolled in the college to complete their course.

The 35 permanent, fixed term and part-time staff will be affected and future training of all home economics teachers will take place in St Angela’s College in Sligo.

In a statement to Southside People college president, Madeleine Mulrennan, said that there was huge sadness and shock among staff when they heard of the closure at an emergency meeting with trustees.

“College management had no opportunity to communicate this information to staff or students, both new and returning, before a press statement was released by the Minister for Education and Science,” Ms Mulrennan said. “In fact the college has still received no communication, either written or verbal, from the Department of Education and Science.”

Mulrennan said that many questions needed to be answered about the justification for closure and the many issues around how the phasing out of the college will be managed.

“We just don’t have answers to these questions at the moment,” she said. “We received no forewarning from the department about the decision to close the college and, in fact, received the news about the closure second hand.

“This is an appalling and unprofessional position to find ourselves in at the outset of a new academic year.”

Mulrennan said that the decision to close the college was difficult to understand when a e1.5m refurbishment project, funded from public funds, had only recently been completed.

She is also concerned that in the last 18 months the college borrowed “considerable funds” from private sources to refurbish the on-campus student residence which only reopened in October 2002.

“The college feels that the Department of Education and Science has not fully considered what impact this decision will have on the future of home economics and students who might wish to enter the profession,” she said. “The practicalities of students accessing St Angela’s College, located outside of Sligo, from all parts of the country has not been given proper consideration.”

Deputy Eamon Gilmore TD (Lab) has called on the minister to reverse his decision.

“The decision to close down the college has clearly been taken as nothing more than a cost-cutting measure,” Deputy Gilmore said. “The concerns and desires of the Dominican Sisters, who have been in charge of the college for so long, do not appear to have been taken into account.”

He said that it is absolutely ridiculous that the very valuable service and education that St Catherine’s provides is to be taken away from the local community.

“The east coast is the most densely populated part of the country,” he told Southside People. “We should be fighting for services such as this to be maintained to provide choice and diversity for those who live here.”

He said that the minister’s claim that the spatial strategy and the need to transfer growth around the country is the reason behind the closure of St Catherine’s is nothing more than a convenient excuse.

“Home economics is a minority subject in schools and colleges,” Deputy Gilmore said. “We should be encouraging its growth and development as a discipline as opposed to shutting down centres where it is taught.”

The Minister for Education and Science said that the decision to close was taken in the context of the proposed withdrawal of the Dominican Sisters as Trustees of St Catherine’s College and was not taken lightly.

“I wish to convey my appreciation to the Dominican Order and indeed to the staff of St Catherine’s, past and present, for the dedication and commitment shown by them throughout the years and for the high regard in which the graduates of St Catherine’s are held throughout the educational community,” Minister Dempsey said.

The Minister added that he had taken into account the National Spatial Strategy, costs, a Government decision to restrict public service numbers and the need to secure value for money in making his decision.

He said that the trustees of St Catherine’s have been informed of the decision and invited to take part in discussions about the closure arrangements.