Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I reiterate that there is no attempt on the part of the Government somehow to set aside the very important work being done in furthering the national language and ensuring those who wish to pursue their education through it are given support in every way possible. The preferential pupil-teacher ratios that exist in the small rural school system are in place for a reason. Deputy Martin Ferris outlined the fact that teachers in these schools are obliged to teach in a multi-class environment. My mother taught four classes - quite successfully, I hope - in a small rural school for 42 years. The pupil-teacher ratios that will obtain in small rural schools following the introduction of the various changes by 2014 will still be significantly more advantageous than those which exist across the remainder of the rural school network. By that date, it will still be possible for a teacher in a two-teacher school teaching ten pupils. That will remain - and rightly so - a significant advantage to such teachers and it reflects the fact that they are obliged to teach in a multi-class environment.

At a time when the public finances are under great strain, we must ensure that the very valuable but limited resources available to us will be used in the very best way possible. I do not believe, and I am sure Deputy Martin Ferris will agree with me in this regard, that it is sustainable to have someone teaching only six pupils. Such a scenario can arise under the current system. I have every confidence in the capacity of school principals to play their part in making the best possible use of the resources to which I refer.

On numerous occasions in recent months, both the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, and the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, have stressed that on their watch no rural school will be forced to close or amalgamate without the express wish of the local community involved. Our policy in this regard is directly opposed to that being pursued by Deputy Martin Ferris's colleague, the Northern Ireland Minister for Education. The latter recently stated that any school with fewer than 105 students cannot operate properly and cannot provide a proper educational experience to the children who attend it. In September of last year, the Northern Ireland Minister for Education indicated that it would not be possible to plan in respect of the education system in that jurisdiction on the basis of school buildings but rather that such plans would have to be based on the needs of pupils. He said: "One third of our 863 primary schools have fewer than 100 enrolled", and that "difficult, sometimes unpopular, but necessary, decisions" would have to be taken to reduce that number.

The Government has never stated that it will forcibly close or amalgamate any schools. However, Deputy Martin Ferris's colleague, who works less than 100 miles from this House, is about to engage in a process designed to do precisely that. A little honesty and less hypocrisy in respect of these matters would, therefore, be appreciated-----

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