Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Independent)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill, which I welcome although I am not sure it goes far enough. The detail will be teased out on Committee Stage. The Bill is based on research carried out by the teaching organisations and the report of the task force. Lack of discipline is a significant problem and it needs to be tackled seriously. School is a microcosm of life. Pre-schools, schools and the wider community are all part of the social fabric. Disruptive pupils affect the majority of pupils who are committed to learning. As Deputy Gogarty stated, disruption also affects teachers. I accept this is a difficult area.

Various inputs are evident in the Bill. Contrary to the general perception of it, in this case flexibility is evident on the part of the Department. This is necessary, especially in disadvantaged areas. I refer in particular to schools in CLÁR areas and in the DEIS scheme. In my constituency, St. Joseph's national school in Ballingarry will lose a teacher on 1 September 2007 unless the Department allows the teacher to continue to work there. The school numbers have fallen to two under the quota. This school is in a disadvantaged area and has a number of special needs and disadvantaged pupils. A special effort should be made for this school and similar ones throughout the country. Ultimately, how pupils get on at school will indicate how they will get on in life.

It is difficult to understand the withdrawal of psychological assessment from some schools. There appears to be a disparity between schools that were classified as disadvantaged and those in the DEIS scheme. The Presentation Secondary School in Clonmel had disadvantaged status but has now lost its on-site psychological assessment service. This appears to suggest to the whole school community that if one works hard and gets results, one will lose one's disadvantaged status and be removed from the DEIS scheme, as happened in this case.

Class size is another factor that impacts on school discipline. Various surveys have been done on this issue. A survey that was carried out in December 2006 in my constituency makes disturbing reading. It indicated that in the 2006-07 school year over half of the county's primary school pupils would be in overcrowded classrooms. A total of 21% of south Tipperary primary pupils are in classes of between 30 and 34 pupils and another 37%, or 2,383 pupils, are in classes of up to 29 pupils. A further 143 pupils are in classes of 35 and over. Some of those classes have special needs pupils which adds to an already difficult situation. I hope that even at this late stage the Minister will implement the promise made in the programme for Government that no child of eight years or younger would be in a class of more than 20.

Sub-standard accommodation is an additional factor that impacts on school discipline. I appeal to the Minister to meet a deputation from Gaelscoil Chluain Meala. As she is aware, the school's accommodation for the past 13 years has been in sub-standard conditions. It is in a never-ending cycle of waiting for other agencies to make decisions on a site and a new school. The school opened in 1994 with two teachers. It now has 12 teachers and 250 pupils. The waiting list extends to 2011. Overcrowded and substandard conditions are not conducive to learning or discipline. I appeal to the Minister to decouple the siting of Gaelscoil Chluain Meala from the Tipperary Institute transfer to the Ballingarrane estate in Clonmel. This has had the effect of delaying the process of identifying a site and building a new school.

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