Joan Burton TD has organized an Open Forum on Education under the title “Our Children, our Schools’ for Tuesday March 27th at St Patrick’s National School Diswellstown.

One of Ireland’s most respected political commentators Olivia O’ Leary will be the independent Chair of the Forum.

Olivia broadcasts a popular weekly diary on RTE’s Drivetime programme. The collected diaries have become annual best sellers.

The expert speakers will be Dr Tom Collins Professor of Education at Maynooth University and Dr Paul Downes, head of the Educational Disadvantage Centre at St Patrick’s Drumcondra.

Dr Collins is a regular contributor to the Irish Times Education page and is a former Director of the Dundalk Institute of Technology. Dr Paul Downes grew up in Blanchardstown where his father,the late Tony Downes was Adult Education Officer for many years. Paul is one of Ireland’s leading specialists on Primary Education and is co-author of a recent major report on school drop out in the Blanchardstown area conducted for the Blanchardstown Area Partnership.

As Education is likely to be a major election issue in Dublin West the Forum promises to be lively and informative as the recent Laurel Lodge forum on the Environment.

“ At this time of the year many local families face difficulties in arranging school places for their children. For some it is at primary level, for others it is the shortage of post primary places at schools like Castleknock Community College. Apart from this particular local issue there is the ever present issue of class sizes in our primary schools which now are way higher than the acceptable international norm. One of Labour’s key election policies is the establishment of a national pre school system over the coming 5 years. So there are many educational issues to be discussed and our Forum on March 27th will provide an opportunity to parents and teachers to get involved in the debate” Labour TD Joan Burton said.