Bradley Bytes – A sort of political column by Dara Bradley

When the Government announced a list of school projects to go to tender or construction in 2026 and 2027, Education Minister Hildegarde Naughton came under fire from all sides.

For every one of the 105 school communities happy to be included in the list, there were hundreds more who were aggrieved that their schools were overlooked again.

Fianna Fáil backbench TD Malcolm Byrne moaned to the Irish Times that 10 of the projects were in Galway and he whinged that the Minister gave priority to her home county.

Let’s leave aside that you’d rarely see a headline in the Irish Times bemoaning a Dublin minister’s investment in projects in the capital. Byrne’s accusation that Hildegarde allocated funding through maroon-tinted glasses to benefit herself electorally was undermined by the facts – just four of the 10 Galway projects were in her constituency of Galway West.

The other six were in Galway East or Roscommon/Galway, where there are no votes for Minister Naughton.

Maybe the Galway East projects were the price paid by Government to guarantee the support of Independent TD and Junior Minister Seán Canney of Michael Lowry’s group? Sin scéal eile.

Or perhaps there was no political interference and the Galway projects actually merited inclusion on the list. Shudder the thought!

The perception given in the Irish Times article that Hildegarde was favouring Galway projects was not necessarily one she’d be rushing to dispel, though, even if it wasn’t accurate.

The former primary school teacher would be quite happy for voters in Galway to believe that she’s fighting their corner. And – as the first senior cabinet minister from Galway West in a decade – why wouldn’t she?

But that creates expectation. And higher expectations lead to disappointment when they’re not met.

Minister Naughton discovered that the hard way last week with the backlash from ‘The Bish’ secondary school, which pushed the nuclear button and published a critical statement that St Joseph’s had not been approved for a new school.

Hildegarde took political flak locally, too, over the omission of Scoil Chaitríona from the list.

Prior to the announcement, Councillor Alan Cheevers (FF) issued a statement calling on the Renmore primary school to be included. Like the cock crowing in the morning and taking credit for the sunrise, this was so he could take plaudits, if and when it happened.

When it wasn’t included, cue outrage from Councillor Cheevers, who issued another statement lamenting its non-inclusion and posted on Minister Naughton’s social media, claiming “staff and students deserve better”.

Sources in Fine Gael locally were annoyed, describing him as a “performative donkey”.

The Minister’s office, meanwhile, indicated that Councillor Cheevers had not spoken to her about this school and there was no written record in the Department of him having made representations to her about it.

Department sources suggested the Renmore school was not ready for construction yet, but the Minister was liaising with Scoil Chaitríona to ensure it gets funded once planning is secured.

When that happens, it’ll be fun to watch Cheevers and Naughton elbowing each other to take the credit!

Pictured: Education Minister Hildegarde Naughton came under fire from all sides after the Government’s announcement on school projects that would go to tender or construction this year or next. Photo: Brian Harding.