Tom Fleming (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

We need to return to the policies of positivity and progression. People in areas that are dying on their feet are acting up and will do so to an increasing extent in the near future. I foresee that many of these meetings will be held throughout the country because of the huge impact of the decline of rural society and the rural fabric of this country. It has been pointed out that amalgamation is not an option. Schools in many of these remote areas have already been amalgamated. This solution means there are more school buses on the road. Some people have to travel back and forth seven or eight miles. It was pointed out at the meeting that the return trips made by the parents of some pupils, when added up over the duration of those pupils' school careers, are more than the extent of the circumference of the globe. It is interesting to look at it in those terms. We have huge class sizes. Between 30 and 35 pupils are being taught in some rooms due to teacher losses. It is not acceptable that some schools are down to one teacher.

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