Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

One of the consequences of the staffing reductions in 2012 has been an increase in the number of one-teacher schools. There were eight such schools in the country in 2008 but thanks to moves by the Fine Gael-Labour Party Government, there are now 24 such schools. It goes without saying that the appointment of a second teacher to a small school or the loss of a school's second teacher is a critical issue in determining whether the school will survive.

The Minister will be familiar with St. Brendan's national school in St. Mullins on the Carlow-Kilkenny-Wexford border, which recently applied for a second teacher but found the going tough. Does the Minister agree that the criteria for appeals by one-teacher mainland schools on applications for an additional teacher are unfair?

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