Galway City Council is unable to provide cover for school wardens on sick leave, a local councillor has claimed, as children in four schools across the city are left without assistance to cross busy roads.

Cllr Níall McNelis said this week he had been liaising with City Hall to address serious concerns that four of the city’s 21 school wardens are currently unavailable to work.

“I hope those who are off get better soon and are in a position to return to work, and this is not on them. But human resources in City Hall need to find a solution quickly because the current situation is dangerous,” said the Labour councillor.

“One area affected is Knocknacarra and as a result, it means there will be no school warden on the Clybaun Road until January. That’s one of the busiest routes in the city in the mornings, with two schools on it,” he continued.

Cllr McNelis said there should be a panel of replacement wardens in place to ensure no school was left exposed.

“Surely there should be some mechanism in place to ensure we have a backup. It has been confirmed to me that we don’t at the moment but I really think it needs to be looked at.

“In the meantime, for the sake of safety, I think the Gardaí need to step up and provide assistance to ensure that children crossing our busy roads are kept safe,” he said.

Photo: a car’s dashcam recorded a car driving straight through the crossing on Clybaun Road, while the warden was in the centre of the road).