Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I appreciate that we have a new Minister for education who is only just in position. I appreciate that the Minister of State is here to answer this but I will also be asking him to go back to the Department, as I will myself, to make the Minister aware of this so that we can just take it off the agenda. I agree this is not normal and it should not be normal in any way. In this case the next thing the school had to pay for were these hygiene items and money was not there. We have heard other principals say, "We are out of money. This school will close. We cannot keep the wolf from the door." The principal is in no way happy that she had to do this but she has done it and it was probably in an attempt not to go absolutely nuclear in relation to this.

We need to ensure that the engagement with the FSSU comes up with something that is actually sustainable. Beyond that, a major part of this is energy costs. The increase in capitation was acceptance that in recent years capitation did not wash its own face and did not cover the costs that were necessary. This school is not only dealing with increased electrical and energy costs but also with an old heating system, which is a legacy issue. If that one thing was dealt with, it would remove a huge portion of the cost. This is a really good school that people say very good things about. I have been contacted by the school and brought it up with the Taoiseach previously. The issue was about getting sanction for two ASD classes. We really need to ensure that issues like this do not happen, that there is a sufficient amount and that we deal with the issues at Darver National School now and ensure there is sustainable funding into the future. We need to do that across the board in our educational system.

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