Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I wish to conclude on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, who is on a North-South ministerial visit in Armagh this evening. He made very clear yesterday that the very difficult financial and budgetary context in which Ireland is operating, which legacy we inherited from the last Fianna Fáil-led Government, is creating an incredible challenge that must and will be faced up to by the current Government.

Let me reiterate the essential realities that obtain. The Government rejects the sensationalist and nakedly opportunistic claims that have been made continually over recent weeks about closing small schools. The only thing that is changing for small schools is that the average class size will no longer be as advantageous as it has been in the past.

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