Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

The school itself has been open since 1903. The management sees a difficulty arising next year rather than this year. I presume it has an idea about the pupil numbers in that school for next year, which is why it is concerned about losing that second teacher. The school has already been amalgamated and 27 out of the 31 Protestant schools in Donegal are all facing this. That is replicated right across the country. I have met representatives from schools in Clare, Cork and across the State. They all say that the changes are affecting the Protestant minority schools.

Can the Minister of State postpone these changes until the value for money report is completed? We need to come up with some sort of alternative arrangement for these schools. We are decimating them at a time when the Protestant population is getting smaller and smaller. Many of these people left the State in the past but have a stake in these areas and want to stay there. One of the things that keeps them in those areas is the school to which they can send their children.

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