Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe. Mo leithscéal nach raibh mé anseo ar dtús. I appreciate the presentations made here and I take on board the points that have been made. I am on the record as calling for the measures in the 2012 budget to be reversed. As late as yesterday I put down several parliamentary questions which unfortunately were not taken in the House because of the lottery system we have for oral answers. The change in threshold numbers for small schools throughout the country, not just in the Gaeltacht, is regressive. That there could be 55 children across eight streams in two classrooms, including perhaps children with special needs, is not good enough. I agree with Mr. Loftus that we cannot put a value on the language and we need to take this matter more seriously.

As a Government backbencher I will continue to work to see if these measures can be halted or even reversed. The reasoning behind these thresholds is given as cost-cutting and encouraging amalgamation but there are more proactive ways to encourage amalgamation. I have not seen any proactive approach from the Department that involves engaging with school communities and showing the benefits that would exist in some cases where amalgamation might be a positive option. The one-cap-fits-all approach is completely ludicrous. I find it very frustrating that this is happening over three years. It needs attention.

There is also an attitude in the Department to places that are far away. In my constituency, Corca Dhuibhne, west of Dingle there are seven primary schools. I saw a television documentary 12 months ago in which officials in the Minister's office found it amazing and ludicrous that there were seven schools west of Dingle. That, however, made my job in my constituency much easier because people have since told me that now they know what I am dealing with. There are seven schools west of Dingle because it is a large hinterland and the people there are entitled to their seven schools.

This is because it is a large hinterland, covering a large area, and the people living in the communities west of Dingle are entitled to their seven schools. It is completely ludicrous for someone to sit in an office in Dublin, look at the map and simply think the world should end at Dingle, with the next stop at Newfoundland. There must be a serious rethink on the part of the Government on the entire approach. In an attempt to have an informed debate on this issue, I have been calling for publication of the value-for-money report into small schools for a long time. As recently as yesterday, in the response to a parliamentary question I had tabled, I was informed the report is nearing finality. However, I was told the same thing approximately 12 months ago. I believe this to be a case of putting the cart before the horse. If there is to be an informed and open debate on this matter, the relevant facts and information are also necessary. I will use this opportunity to call for the immediate publication of the aforementioned document. It is something of which members must have sight without delay.