Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Does the Secretary General think parishes, particularly in rural Ireland, should be recognised in the criteria? I am not talking about parents who want to pick specialist schools for their children and want the State to pay for it. I am talking about parents sending their children to one primary school in a parish. The parents have no choice because there is only one primary school in the parish. After 40 years, the grandparents, parents and grandchildren, have all of a sudden been told that the option is closed. These people have a right to get the same service that they were promised in 1968 and enjoyed for 40 years. Unfortunately, politicians have changed the situation with the stroke of a pen. If people went to court and outlined that they always had access to the school then I think the Government would be bound by it.