Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I submitted a similar question to the Minister. Along with the points that have been mentioned, another point to note is that more than 700 students are in Gaelscoileanna in County Clare, over 200 of whom are in areas outside of Ennis, in Shannon, Moy and Kilrush. As the Gaelcholáiste is still just an aonad, all those students have been deprived access to the free transport scheme, which must be taken into consideration. On 2 October 2021, the Minister was considering the transition of Gaelcholáiste an Chláir from an aonad to an independent, stand-alone Gaelcholáiste. She mentioned the number of students. Clare has had a growth in population of 8%, much the same as has been seen nationally, but if we look at other Gaelcholáistí, one in Tralee, County Kerry, was established as an aonad with ten pupils in 1984 and achieved independence in 1989 with only 64 pupils in total.

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