Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I sincerely congratulate the new Ministers, Deputies Foley, Harris, Niall Collins and Madigan, on their appointment. It is unprecedented to have four Ministers working in the area of education. This shows the value the Government places on education, which will be key in all sectors as the economy gets back on its feet.

I will begin where the previous speaker left off, namely, with school reopening. I was a schoolteacher until 11 or 12 weeks ago so this issue matters a great deal to me. My eldest son, Sam, will start junior infants in September. Beyond the mechanics of getting back to school, my wife and I do not want to disappoint him by telling him on 31 August that he might be home for another few weeks during which we would have to try to entertain him. As the Minister, Deputy Madigan, said, this is fun but it has its challenges. I am hopeful the two education Departments can collectively offer clarification on that issue in the next week or two in order that parents and schools will be able to plan effectively.

The main issue I wish to raise is that of third level education, specifically third level accommodation. With the new academic year nearly upon us, most third level students are unaware if the majority of their tuition from September onwards will take place via distance learning, Zoom lectures and, webinars or will whether they will be in lecture halls on a rostered basis. How they will learn is not as crucial a concern as where they will live. Parents are unsure whether they should commit to expensive tenancy agreements for on-campus or off-campus accommodation or if a more ad hocaccommodation, such as short-term Airbnb lettings, would be more suitable if students will be on and off campus a lot. I ask the Minister, Deputy Harris, to expressly offer some clarity on the matter in order that parents and students can make informed decisions in this regard.

St. Aidan's national school in Shannon, County Clare, is one of those schools with supersized classrooms. In one particular classroom there will be 37 pupils sitting behind desks in September. Social distancing, as we know it, will not be possible in that environment. The school has applied for an additional teacher but has been unsuccessful in that regard. It has corresponded with the Department of Education and Skills and I am hopeful the Minister, Deputy Foley, will revisit the case of that particular school.

I raise the issue of school bus transport for a number of second level students from the small village of Crusheen in County Clare. In total, 13 children from the village attend St. Joseph's secondary school in Tulla. They have been told by Bus Éireann that buses cannot be routed for their daily collection and drop-off because they are marginally closer to the CBS school in Ennis. It was also suggested that they consider attending Gort community school in south County Galway. The rules relating to school bus transport are convoluted, as everyone knows. There is an ideal opportunity to review them as we come to the second half of the summer and people prepare to book tickets for school transport. Parents have submitted a petition to the Department and I ask that it be looked at by the relevant Minister.

The Department approved new classrooms for Clonmoney national school in County Clare last year. However, everything is at a standstill. The stage 2a report the school submitted shows that the cost will exceed the funding sanctioned by the Department by approximately 10%. The school needs departmental approval to move to the planning and tender stage. On top of this immediate problem, the school's board of management has an acute worry that one mainstream classroom and one special education teacher room will be grossly inadequate to meet the school's short-term and medium-term needs. Will the Minister, Deputy Foley, ask senior officials from her Department's building unit to directly engage with the school's principal, Mr.David McCormack?

St. Enda's national school in Lisdoonvarna currently has 130 pupils enrolled, of which 26, or 20% of the school population, live in the local direct provision centre. One fifth of the school population do not speak English as their first language. While they are learning and making huge inroads, as one can imagine, this places a strain on teaching resources and it is difficult for the school to meet the needs of those who are fluent in the English language and those who are acquiring it as a brand new language. The school desperately needs to have a reduced pupil-teacher ratio in order that the needs of all pupils can be met.

I ask that the Department look at special cases like St. Enda's national school in Lisdoonvarna. Overnight, this small village had a direct provision centre with none of the ancillary services that go with that. I am aware that the Minister, Deputy Foley, is familiar with this issue from her own constituency. A possible solution would be to automatically grant DEIS band 1 status to such schools, thereby giving them access to a whole range of supports. Perhaps there is a tailor-made solution for schools with this kind of acute need.

I know the issue of Limerick Institute of Technology, LIT, is close to the heart of the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins. As a previous speaker stated, there are movements all around the country to have regional technological universities. LIT has fantastic links not only in its native city of Limerick but also through a campus in Tipperary and an impressive campus in Ennis in my home county of Clare.

There is a need to look at ways of advancing that. It would go down well in the mid-west.

I have covered all the issues. I thank the Ministers and wish them well. It is great to see a teacher leading up the Department of Education and Skills. Deputy Foley will have a direct hands-on approach to this. She knows from her front-line experience of only a few weeks ago. Like myself, she was in the books and red-pen territory. I have every belief that all four Ministers and Ministers of State will adjust well to their new roles. I hope they can deliver on all the issues I have highlighted today.

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