Martin Ferris (Kerry North-West Limerick, Sinn Fein)

I raised this topic for debate because it is causing considerable concern within the Gaeltacht part of County Kerry and in other Gaeltacht areas nationwide. While there have been adverse changes to the pupil-teacher ratio across the board that will have a similar detrimental impact, that on Gaeltacht schools is being aggravated by the abolition of the discretionary ratio that used to be in place. This means the minimum number of pupils required for a four-teacher school has risen from 81 to 83 but in Gaeltacht areas, where the minimum previously was 76 pupils, a school now requires 83 pupils to qualify for a fourth teacher. As this number will be increased to 86 for all schools by 2014, the consequential increase in Gaeltacht areas will be 10 pupils, compared with five pupils elsewhere.

The increase in the required enrolment means Scoil Naomh Eoin Baiste, Lispole, will lose one teacher next September. This is a serious blow for a small rural school that will have a serious impact on the education provided. This impact was worsened because the school authorities had thought they had fulfilled the necessary criteria up until last September, when 80 pupils were enrolled. While this number exceeded the criterion of 76 pupils, it was then arbitrarily and without prior notice increased to 81 pupils. Subsequently, the school was informed it would need to have 83 pupils enrolled next September or it would lose another teacher. According to information in my possession, unless rescinded the new pupil-teacher ratio will mean that 13 of the 14 schools in the County Kerry Gaeltacht will lose teachers over the next three years. This will have a further detrimental impact on Gaeltacht areas in general and obviously, any movement of children and families to other areas, which might be one of the consequences, will accelerate the decline of Irish as the first spoken language in these regions.

As with other cutbacks that are being made, the bottom line appears to be solely financial. People who support increasing the pupil-teacher ratio always will be able to produce evidence that it makes no difference. Apart from the existence of a large body of evidence to support the opposite, it is strange that some people only discover the scientific argument for increasing the ratio when their own party does so. Apart from the educational argument in favour of retaining the lower ratio, there also is the argument in favour of retaining the schools, which many believe will be forced to close. I have heard some teachers and parents express the suspicion that this is the real object of the exercise. That would have a great impact on local communities in general and an even greater impact on Gaeltacht communities in particular, given the central role of the language in the education of children, who may in future be forced to travel to schools outside their own communities. I ask the Minister to reconsider the changes to teacher-pupil ratios across the board and that in addition, at the very least, he should restore the discretionary ratio for Gaeltacht schools.

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