Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

How will the classification be done this time? What will be the criteria compared to when it was first done?

On the subject of rural disadvantage, in certain areas of rural Ireland parents for one reason or another are choosing to take their children out of the bigger village school and move them to schools which are in a rural rather than an urban setting. These schools then need extensions but the village school is left with the disadvantaged students. I refer to a school which accommodated 250 pupils and currently has fewer than 70 students. Will such schools with low numbers be included in the scheme? This is a different type of disadvantage but it is becoming more apparent.

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