Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is another layer of work for boards of management and it will be a huge difficulty for them. They are experiencing major difficulties and I am opposed to imposing another layer of work on them. Other Members will interrupt me because they probably do not have the experience of working on a board of management. I know the amount of time and effort that goes into people trying to keep school numbers up and their doors open. They need to be commended and not given extra work. Another recent addition to the workload of schools was the child protection provisions and, while these are important, we are making things very laborious for boards of management. I ask the Minister to step back and reconsider this. We have to think of boards of management because it is becoming more difficult for them.

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