Luke Flanagan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)

We are told that these decisions must be taken because of economic realities in Ireland. We are told that decimating these schools will save the State €15 million. When one looks at the details, it is not quite so clear-cut. If, due to these cuts, a school is forced to close, this will mean an inevitable extra expense of amalgamating it with another school. It will, in the majority of cases, mean that money will need to be spent on upgrading infrastructure. There is also the issue with the teacher. When the school closes, the State will have to pay him or her. There will be no saving there. What about the cash-strapped parent who will now have to go further with his or her children to another school? There is no saving here for the parent, only increased costs.

Let us say the Government was genuine in stating it will save €15 million. I believe it could find this somewhere else. In a recent report on living standards in Ireland, the CSO reported that in 2010 those on the lowest income decile experienced a decrease in equivalised disposable income of more than 26% while those in the highest income decile experienced an increase in income of more than 8%. This shows quite clearly that the super-rich are thriving and are in a position to give more back to the State.

There is also the long-term economic downside to reducing educational resources. Studies have shown that funding taken out of primary education costs five times as much down the line. If the Government succeeds in its plan to decimate these schools, it will not save the country one red cent but will, in fact, cost the country more money.

Variety is the spice of life and in Ireland we have lots of it. We need to protect this variety with passion. The more we force people into towns, the more we dilute variety and become the same as everywhere else. Homogeneity is for milk, not people. When I was a child I used to watch my mother making dinner and as I got older, I used to help her. When I first started to help I was curious as to the reason she went to so much trouble by boiling carrots, spuds and cabbage in separate pots. I wondered if it would not be quicker and use less fuel to boil everything together. She agreed it would be but said one would not get the same flavour because everything would end up tasting the same. The same applies in life, which is not all about perceived efficiency. We are not robots. We are all different and come from different areas and, with that, we bring variety. If the Government continues with its plans for rural schools and throws everyone into one pot, in years to come we will end up with a bland society where everyone speaks with a mid-Atlantic twang and being Irish will mean nothing.

Regardless of whether the Government accepts the Bill, I ask it to at least stall the cuts until the review on the future of small schools is completed. Failing that, its review will have as much credibility as an archer who fires the arrow first before drawing a target.

The writer and journalist John Healy will be forever remembered for his book, No One Shouted Stop, on the death of an Irish town. That is no longer the case because we are shouting "Stop". Now that we are doing so, will the Government kindly listen and vote for the Bill?

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