Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)

I too am delighted to speak on this Private Members' Bill and commend my Independent colleagues for putting this Bill before the House. I also commend them for meeting the various action groups, parents' groups, school communities and even farming organisations across the country, all of which are concerned about the impact of these disastrous cuts on rural Ireland. A small school in a rural community is probably the last bastion of what was a vibrant community. We had the co-operative societies which started off small and local but turned into large conglomerates. What happened is they went abroad, invested hugely, lost their shirts, abandoned the communities from which they came and closed the creameries. Garda stations in rural areas are being closed. Scant regard is given to the delivery of broadband services in rural areas despite several promises of its roll out.

Over the past several years much progress was made in upgrading many rural schools which got significant buy-in from parents and the wider community. Funds were raised through voluntary efforts to ensure rural schools were upgraded and building facilities improved. The CLÁR programme provided funding for play areas. Now, however, the Government is going to throw the baby out with the bathwater by closing many of the schools in question. It is reckless waste.

However, considering the already reckless waste of the public service and Governments, this is nothing new to official Ireland which does not understand the value of money. The upgrading of these facilities received much buy-in in communities which one may not have in urban areas. I am not trying to be "urban against rural" but I am standing up for rural Ireland. I am sick and tired of the attacks on rural Ireland. To hell or to Connacht is a sentiment prevalent in official Ireland. The Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, should understand that sentiment. Officialdom feels it is easier to cut out small rural areas and divide and conquer them. After closing a school, it will promise a bus service for the pupils to the next school which is later removed. CIE also threatens to remove school bus services because road conditions in rural areas are bad, roads which are neglected by central Government and cannot be fixed by local authorities due to lack of funding. Are we going to close the gates on rural Ireland and abandon it? People will not accept this. Thousands of citizens came to the Dáil last November to protest and hundreds of others have attended meetings throughout the country in the meantime. These individuals know that if a school is closed, an entire area can die. Agriculture will be badly affected by what is proposed because no farmer will be able to get someone to marry him and settle down in a rural area. This is due to the fact that people will not live in such areas if they are going to be obliged to drive six, eight or ten miles on dreadful roads to get their children to school. We have been promised buses to transport children to school but these have not been forthcoming.

I advise the Minister of State to go back to the drawing board. He should consider where waste exists in his Department. It is certainly not in small schools. The most brilliant of people have been educated in such schools. The Minister of State should read Alice Taylor's To School Through the Fields. People who were educated in small schools have gone on to become world leaders and major entrepreneurs. Those are the type of individuals we need.

Children should not be made to attend school in the concrete jungles of towns and cities and thereby miss out on understanding nature and its flora and fauna. Those who attend small rural schools witness nature at first hand and come to understand it. They do not believe that money just comes out of a hole in the wall or that milk and potatoes are produced in factories. These children understand nature and life. They love their communities and are part of them. Each Sunday they are to be found in local community fields taking part in sporting and other activities.

Many communities to not have rooms in which people can meet, with the exception of those in areas where the boards of management of local schools will allow them access to their facilities. Coláiste Cois Siúire in my parish has been operating for 21 years in the local national school. The Minister of State should ensure such schools are put to use rather than being closed up for three to four months each year. They should be used every afternoon and evening as educational centres for all. These schools should not be locked up while communities are trying to fund recreation, enterprise and community centres. Schools, as facilities, can be enhanced by the efforts of local communities and boards of management. Sufficient money has never been provided for developments of the type to which I refer but people have always managed to make up the difference themselves.

I am of the view that what is being done is dastardly. What is happening now also occurred in my area in 1969 and the local community never recovered. All the children there were, literally, shoved into a big school. As a result, the old school buildings were allowed go to waste. The problem with the buildings that are now being allowed to go to waste is that massive funding has been provided for them. They are magnificent buildings which would have lasted a long time and which would have provided students, teachers and local communities with a small degree of comfort. Do we want these buildings to be abandoned, as happened in the case of the creameries and the Garda stations?

I was present at a community event at the Commons in Ballingarry on Saturday last. It was held at an old school which had been closed but which was reopening following a refurbishment that was completed on foot of the provision of funding by the local community and through the Leader programme. It now serves as a community centre. Are we going to turn all our schools into such centres? I do not believe so because we will not have people with the relevant expertise and a passion for rural life. We do not have the wherewithal, pride, dignity or self-respect to ensure this will happen. The Minister of State should know from the experience in his own area that it is a case of ní neart go chur le chéile. An approach based on the philosophy of divide and conquer will not succeed.

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