Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister's response is very disappointing. She indicated that her policy is to make schools sustainable, but I argue that her policy will make them unsustainable. I question the sustainability of the 40 one-teacher schools this Government has created. The number of such schools has increased from only 11 when this Government came into office. The Government is not making those schools more sustainable. Rather, it is making the situation difficult, if not impossible for them. This is not just an issue for one-teacher schools. The cuts have also had a negative impact on two, three and four-teacher schools.

There is no honesty from the Minister with regard to what her Department is doing. In fact, she is denying what it is doing. She is talking about sustainability when the Department is making the schools unsustainable. Meanwhile, the Minister refuses to publish the value for money report which was with her predecessor for 18 months. There has been no honest appraisal of the educational impact of what this Government is doing. Will the Minister address that point in her response and stop ignoring the reality of the difficulties being created for schools?

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