Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate what the Minister said but I hoped there might be something more positive. Perhaps in her response she might give an indication of that. I raise this issue in a spirit of trying to see if we can find a solution to it. It is not a huge cohort of schools but where an issue arises in a unit or in terms of the significant number of staff who are dependent on the principal, it is usually the mainstream class, which the principal teaches, that loses out on account of this. Indeed, the whole school loses out. Extraordinary work is being done but principals cannot continue to perform the miracle of loaves and fishes with the limited number of hours and all the different responsibilities they have.

The group of teaching principals I have been engaging with put forward proposals. The sums of money we are talking about are very small. Some €3 million or € 4 million would resolve this and make them administrative principals. Will the Minister commit to ensuring that or, at the very least, exploring whether principals teaching in small schools can be made administrative principals? It is a reasonable ask. Will she meet with the group of principals in question?

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