Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)

I thank the Acting Chairman for giving me the opportunity to contribute on this radical and progressive legislation. I warmly welcome and support the Bill. I commend my Independent colleagues, Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, among others, for introducing this legislation, as it gives us a chance to show clearly where we stand on the issue of small schools, their survival and contribution to their local communities and, above all, education. Government Deputies have neglected the question of education in their contributions, yet this is a debate on the education of children and the future of the education system.

The Bill gives us a chance to show how pluralist we are in terms of the protection of minority religious schools, which is an important aspect. My position is clear, in that I promote small schools which are good for education, children and their local communities. I worked in a small school for more than 25 years, by which I mean 107 pupils, give or take a few pupils each year. We constantly worried about losing a teacher because of a difference of two or three pupils. Larger national schools of 300, 400 or even 700 pupils could be found a few miles down the road. Every year in our school there was a crisis. Sometimes we found pupils at the last minute, sometimes we were down three or four. This is many small schools' nightmare and the issue is addressed in the Bill.

I will always remember the usually positive aspects of our small school. It was a close and intimate environment, in that I knew every child's parents, brothers and sisters. It was a disadvantaged school on the north side of Dublin and experienced many issues. If a serious issue arose, be it a child at risk or an educational problem, our staff would pick up on it quickly and work closely with the parents to take action. That is what happens in small schools. Ministers should listen to people in their communities.

Those of us who have been pressing the issue and protecting small schools have been accused of hysteria by some Government backbenchers. What utter rubbish. It is obvious from the debate that they have not even read the legislation and do not care about education. They should consider the facts. The comments about scaremongering were disgraceful. We are fighting for the education of children and the retention of small schools. Damn the rest of you. Examine the legislation, the purpose of which is to make specific provision in law for the protection of schools that, by virtue of providing education for a geographical, cultural, religious or non-denominational community, a recognised Gaeltacht area or on an offshore island, are of such importance that their closure would have a harmful impact on their communities or areas. What is wrong with this Bill? The legislation's aims are sensible, as they are only concerned with education. There is no scaremongering.

Some Deputies have a brass neck when discussing education, given the fact that 340 teenagers with intellectual disabilities will have no places next September. They will be thrown out onto the streets in the next couple of weeks, yet there has not been a squeak from the Government.

I urge Members to support the Bill. It is progressive legislation, opens up the debate and shows the way forward, as it suggests common, simple solutions to the issue of small schools. I will support the Bill and urge every Government Deputy to support the Independents and the Technical Group.

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