Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to raise this extremely important issue. It is very important given that yesterday was the final day for receipt of appeals from the small schools that face losing a teacher and face increased class sizes in September 2012. This cut to the pupil-teacher ratio is a cut to front-line services which will predominantly affect small rural schools, schools of minority faith and Gaelscoileanna. The Government tells us that this decision is based primarily on value for money and not on the ideology of the Minister, which I find hard to believe. I am disappointed the Minister is not here, with all due to the respect to the Minister of State, given that he will be in the Chamber in an hour to take questions.

This is a very important and emotive issue and it is being discussed the length and breadth of this country. We all agree that savings need to be made across all Departments because the country cannot continue to run the deficit that currently exists. However, why has the Minister put forward these proposals before he has consulted the value for money review which so many schools, boards of management and so on, lodged in March 2011? These reviews allowed teaching staff and boards of management to highlight where the necessary savings could be made.

Small rural schools are the lifeblood of rural Ireland. The Department's own whole school evaluation report clearly demonstrates that small schools throughout the country meet the needs of pupils, parents and teachers. One school in the report is described as a "warm, welcoming, inclusive school, where all pupils are cherished equally". Another school is described as providing "very good quality learning experiences". Another quote in the report praises "the total commitment and professionalism of the teacher and her staff in delivering a broad and balanced curriculum". There are references to the school buildings and grounds being exceptionally well maintained as a location for the education of children, along with parents' efforts and willingness to fund raise for school infrastructure such as additional accommodation and so on.

The Minister has been disingenuous when he compares the pupil-teacher ratio in small rural schools and small schools with the larger schools. He is not taking cognisance of the multi-class setting in the one classroom. He also talks about increasing the choice of patronage. The Church of Ireland bishops stated that "No single issue has in recent years caused such a degree of anxiety amongst our communities as this one." A number of schools in the Longford-Westmeath constituency are affected by this.

My local school is Ballynacargy national school, which faces losing a teacher in September due to a decrease in the number of pupils by one. There are excellent teaching staff in the school. Huge resources have been pumped in through the Department's summer works programme over the last few years, and also through local fund raising. It is a fabulous school and it risks losing one teacher for one pupil. I am a member of the management committee at the local playschool and we have increased our opening hours there in a bid to ensure that people from the locality do not move elsewhere to send their kids to preschool and as a possible result, sending them to alternative primary schools in the county. We have looked at that and we believe that in a short space of time, the pupil numbers will be back up. In the space of 12 months, that will cause a lot of disruption to the school and I ask the Minister of State to look sympathetically on this appeal.

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