Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have listened to the concerns raised by many representatives of rural Ireland, including my colleagues in the Labour Party and Fine Gael. Complex issues are involved. I have tried to provide within the constraints in which we found ourselves three years ago. We made a reduction, or a disimprovement as it were, in the pupil-teacher ratio of small schools in order to provide a degree of certainty and to enable school communities to plan for the future, which is the very point the Deputy made. I outlined what the situation would be over three years so that school managements and communities would be aware of it and could make whatever choices they desired as regards other schools in their areas. There are no further proposals for changes in the pupil-teacher ratio.

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