Michael Harty (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I raise the issue of Lisdoonvarna national school. Lisdoonvarna is a very famous town in County Clare. The school has had to take in 18 extra pupils over the past three months because a direct provision centre opened in Lisdoonvarna at the beginning of March and now has 115 asylum seekers, 18 of which are schoolgoing children attending the primary school. The sudden influx of pupils has put substantial pressure on the resources of the school and its ability to deliver education to the highest standards.

It was a controversial decision to place the direct provision centre in Lisdoonvarna. The school openly embraced taking in the 18 children. The school was quite enthusiastic about bringing them in and assimilating them into the community. The school expected that it would be allocated extra resources. The real pressures that were going to come from the direct provision centre were on educational services and health services. The school expected that extra supports would be put in place and it enthusiastically embraced the students. The school expected it would get an additional teacher. It is looking for an additional language teacher and an additional classroom teacher because the number of pupils in the school has risen by 13% in a very short time.

The students, being asylum seekers, have language difficulties and educational difficulties. The school is in a very vulnerable position. The pupil-teacher ratio has increased and the extra 18 pupils have exceptional needs. In the future there may be more than 18 pupils because the nature of asylum seekers is that they are transient. The number of such students attending the primary school may increase beyond 18. The existing pupils in the school prior to the arrival of the asylum seekers had a standard of education that was very high, but that will invariably be diluted unless new resources and extra teachers are put in place to accommodate their needs.

The school is looking for a reduction in the pupil-teacher ratio because of the extraordinary and unique circumstances of having such an increase in numbers and asylum seekers who require greater time and attention from the teachers. The school is not looking for DEIS status but for a DEIS-type ratio for the school. The problem is that Lisdoonvarna is being treated as just an ordinary national school that has had an increase in pupils. It is in an extraordinary position in that the increase in pupils comprises asylum seekers and they have exceptional needs. I understand the Department has allocated a half-time equivalent language teacher to the school and that is very welcome. The school requires an additional classroom teacher to accommodate the extra numbers.

Lisdoonvarna should be seen as a template for the future in situations like this because direct provision centres may be opened in other towns like Lisdoonvarna. There should be an anticipation of the needs rather than the needs being arrived at first. It should be anticipatory rather than a crisis situation. Lisdoonvarna could be used as a template for other schools and as a beacon for the future.

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