Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)

I commend our education spokesperson, Deputy Brendan Smith, for putting forward this motion tonight. It goes to the heart of every rural community. Schools right across the country are very concerned with these decisions in respect of four, three and two teacher schools. It is vitally important that we stand back and look at what these schools have contributed over the generations since education was established in these communities. Since the 1960s and 1970s, there has always been a determination shown by the Department of Education and Skills to amalgamate schools, and it must be said that this policy has failed. Across the US, the UK and places where amalgamation policies have been pursued, reports have shown that these policies were wrong. The urbanisation of society is causing a lot more harm than good.

There are communities across the country that are concerned about the future of their schools, which have provided excellent education for generations of people. If we look at the people who have come into the public service and across the spectrum who have done very well, they often have come from these schools. The budget has made an attempt at attacking them and the fundamentals of what they have. Over the last number of weeks, many schools in my own constituency have been in contact with us about how the budget will affect them, not just in September 2012, but in September 2013, 2014 and beyond, which will affect the decisions they make about the schools to which they send their children. This goes back to the identity of children as they grow up in smaller rural communities. Instead of taking the facility from them, we should be further encouraging facilities.

The nonsense of what is being proposed is having a detrimental effect in a number of schools. Knocknagree national school in my own area had the numbers for four teachers on 30 September 2011, but because of the change in the budget, it will now be affected by a reduction of one teacher on 30 September 2012. Due to the projected enrolments in that community and the parish records and the information available to the school, we know that it will have the numbers for a four-teacher school in September 2013. That is a huge anomaly. The school will be losing a teacher for a particular year. That teacher will have been working in the school and will have built up a relationship with the local stakeholders in the school system but due to the decision by the Minster in the budget and due to the decision by the Department, this school will lose out. Even at this late stage, I would ask the Minister and his officials to look at that case. According to the school's own projections, there will be 36 in one classroom with three different classes, and that is not acceptable.

Many more school representatives, such as those of Milford and Lismire, have been in contact with me about how these changes will affect them. They have been in contact with the prospective parents in their communities and these parents are now asking how will they be affected in September 2012, 2013, 2014 and beyond. The future of these schools is worrying the school authorities, the parents and the wider community. I do not know whether the Minister understands the depth of feeling that is within rural communities about the identity that their schools give them. We have seen what urbanisation across the world has cost society in the long term, not just in education, but also in justice and in other things. The rural communities provide an excellent prototype to follow, and we should be supporting them. I ask the Minister to look at the nonsense that has caused a school to lose a teacher due to the new rules, even though the numbers were there on 30 September and they will be there again.

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