Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

There is an urgent need for more flexibility by the Department of Education in applying the criteria for the retention of teaching posts where there is a short-term drop in a school's enrolment on 30 September but this drop in enrolment is reversed within a very short period of time, particularly by the end of that school term, bringing the school's enrolment up to the required threshold for the retention of its teaching posts. The loss of a teacher in a small school creates serious difficulties in trying to organise classes and impacts negatively on pupils, particularly children with additional needs. I am very familiar with one small school which has been informed by the Department that it will lose a teaching post even though it has supplied verifiable data to the Department that further enrolments will take place before Christmas and will exceed the required thresholds.

I know parents who have come to this country to live and work in healthcare and have children enrolled but the children may not be able to attend school by the start of the school term. That is applicable to the cases I am familiar with and I would appeal for every possible consideration to be given to the appeals submitted by small schools. Loss of teaching posts in smaller schools must be avoided if at all possible. The Minister, Deputy Foley, is familiar with this case and I will also provide the details to the Taoiseach.

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