Seymour Crawford (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)

I record my thanks to the Minister for providing an increase in devolved grants to No. 1 school in Cavan, which is a listed building. Nobody would deny there has been progress but I cannot help thinking that in the mid-1980s, my party leader, as Minister of State at the then Department of Education, opened the school in Latnamard in the parish of Aghabog where I live. Work was being done even when money was very scarce and, while there has been continual progress, much remains to be done.

I will talk about overcrowding in some schools. It is not so long since we held a meeting in Urbalshanny national school in north Monaghan. It is an excellent, quite recently reconstructed school that many people want to attend. However, the fact that class sizes are as high as 40 is not acceptable. It is important that the Minister makes every effort to reduce that figure, not just from the point of view of the pupils but for the sanity of the teachers.

I wish to concentrate on the small village of Rockcorry, three miles from my home in County Monaghan. There are four full-time teachers and two remedial at Scoil Mhuire. It has two classrooms and two prefabs, one of which is 15 years old, although the other was replaced last year. It includes a classroom and an area for a remedial teacher and the office is a wooden hut. I appreciate that Scoil Mhuire has had problems getting agreement with planning officials from the county council on a site near Rockcorry village but several housing estates have been built since and there were no problems obtaining planning permission for those. One wonders what the planning regulations are and how realistic they are. A school has been sought for at least 15 years from even before I came into this House. There are 90 pupils in the school and they deserve better. I hope in the next year we can effect a constructive conclusion on that matter.

In the same village there is a Church of Ireland school and I appreciate the help it has received in the past. Again, however, it is growing in numbers. There are 34 pupils and two full-time teachers, one part-time and one remedial. There are 17 junior pupils in one small room in the downstairs part of what is a two-storey building. According to any regulations it is totally inadequate.

The real reason for my raising it at this moment is the problem it has with remedial teachers. I have raised it a number of times in the House and written to the Minister's Department on many occasions. A young boy with learning difficulties has attended the school for two years and he needs more one-to-one tuition than he receives. The fact that he does not receive it is causing problems in the school. The psychologist recommended he get one-to-one teaching for two and a half hours per week from a resource teacher but the Department did not grant that. It is a serious situation and he has had to be kept back for a year. The parents are very annoyed and I ask the Minister to review the situation. The answer I received from the Department was that because it was a relatively small school, there should be no need for a direct remedial teacher.

For what do we pay psychologists? We should ensure action is taken on foot of their reports. I urge the Minister to ensure that the needs of schools are met regardless of the number of pupils they may have. A school may have a significant number of children with special needs because parents are attracted by its small size or excellent teachers. I urge the Minister to address this issue as a matter of urgency.

I appreciate the allocation of €47.5 million towards the teaching of non-nationals, a vital function. This type of tuition is needed in virtually every school in County Monaghan, not only its larger schools, because many foreign families have moved to the area to work in the poultry, mushroom and other industries. I support the measures introduced by the Minister in this area. The money has been well spent. Immigrants have made this country a great deal richer and have justified the expenditure of these funds of their own right.

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