Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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I thank the Minister for taking this Topical Issue, because it is important for Scoil Mhuire in Donegal that this is dealt with and some form of redress is found. I know the school has gone through the processes available within the Department of Education and Skills, but I think that the Minister needs to look at it again because it comes under the criteria that the Department has outlined.

Over the past five years, enrolments at Scoil Mhuire in Creeslough have increased from 95 to a projected 124 for the 2018-19 academic year. It is situated in a rural area of north-west Donegal which has experienced demographic growth in recent years. Many families have relocated here as it is a short commute to the busy town of Letterkenny. I note that is a short commute by Donegal standards. That is something the Minister must take on board. In Donegal, people live quite a distance from Letterkenny and commute into the town due to the difficulties involved in getting school places there as well as people's connections to their home areas. They are quite happy to do that. Living in Donegal, one has to be quite happy to travel, because one will have to travel no matter what one wants to do.

The school is situated in an area of high economic and social deprivation. Many of the children in a school that is part of the delivering equality of opportunity in schools, DEIS, plan have very particular needs and challenges. Scoil Mhuire recently sent a staffing appeal to the Department. The school has projected that it will have 124 children on the roll in September 2018. Currently, there are 113, which is well in excess of the number needed to gain an additional teacher. This will be the trend for the future, as the number of pupils has been consistently increasing for the past several years. The school expects this to continue because of its closeness to Letterkenny and the fact that people want to settle there.

This will have an impact on the school. There are 31 pupils in junior and senior infants, 35 pupils in first and second class, 33 pupils in third and fourth class; and 25 pupils in fifth and sixth class. This is having a severe impact. The Department's stated aim is to have smaller numbers of children per class. This situation is in breach of that.

It is extremely difficult for any teacher to work with such large numbers in this age group. All children deserve a learning environment that will help them learn and enhance their learning experience. Unfortunately, in a room of over 30 children and in very limited space, the children are the victims and are limited in what they can do. The delivery of certain subjects on the curriculum, such as the Aistear framework, drama and SPHE, is very difficult because of the limited space and the large numbers.

If this was not bad enough, there is a child with a significant developmental delay. I refer in particular to the overcrowded infant classroom, in particular. The child has problems with noise and co-ordination, and the limited space in the classroom impedes her and is potentially detrimental to her social and educational development. All these impacts have to be taken into account. Due to the high number of children in the infant classroom, they have to be located in the largest classroom in the school, which is actually the farthest from the toilets. This has an added impact in that they have to travel the farthest distance, past doors and everything else.

The school is very important. It is important that it be reconsidered under the scheme. The procedure is probably outside the departmental mechanism but there may be an opportunity for the school to reapply. I ask the Minister to consider whether this could happen.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Pringle for raising this issue. I can understand the concern raised with him by Scoil Mhuire. This is an historic situation. The allocation of teachers for next September, that is, September 2018, is based on the enrolment of September 2017. It is applied universally across all schools. The threshold needed to get an additional teacher is 113. As the Deputy probably knows, the present number is 111, which is just short.

The school made an appeal. The case was examined but since the school did not have the additional two pupils, it did not meet the normal requirement. The case was examined in light of the concept of particular pressure on the infant intake but the additional number of junior infants entering did not meet the threshold that is set, unfortunately. It did not meet the developing school test either. The appeals board, which is entirely independent of my Department, met and heard the case. Unless there is a change of circumstances, the case cannot be resubmitted.

On the positive side, if the numbers materialise in the coming September, then in September 2019 an additional teacher will be appointed and the school will meet the criteria. Twice I have reduced the pupil-teacher ratio. It means the enrolment requirement has come down by two pupils — or by one on each occasion I reduced it. Unfortunately, that still did not bring Scoil Mhuire across the boundary. I am not in a position to indicate otherwise to the Deputy, unless circumstances have changed from those that are already known. The appeal has been heard and was not successful. The school had an additional allocation in 2016-17 in respect of resource teachers. We have been consistently expanding the support for children with special educational needs. I regret to say I am not in a position to overrule the decision of the appeals board. These rules have to be applied uniformly. Every school across the country has to be treated fairly. The appeals board has its criteria and these are applied fairly in respect of every appeal that comes its way. I am sorry I do not have better news for the Deputy.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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Hard cases make bad law. There are cases, however, in which a school is not facilitated by the system in operation.

Scoil Mhuire is in that situation and is not ticking the boxes as far as the Department is concerned. If the school can get additional information, will the Minister reconsider the matter? That is vital. The school is trying to fit the criteria set by the Department rather than it being a situation of the Department looking at the school to see how it is performing. There is no doubt that the number of students in the school means that it is in severe difficulty. That must be addressed and the Minister must find some way to do it. Ultimately, the school will have far more than the proper number of pupils next September, but it will have to be based on the following year to get that dealt with, which is wrong. We need to find some way to develop and expand these particular classes in schools. While it might seem that the school is in a very rural area, it is actually being impacted upon by urban areas and that must be taken into account.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I understand what the Deputy says. He is arguing a very good case for the school in question, but the difficulty is that it is two short of the test. That test is applied everywhere. It is not applied randomly. It is possible to appeal if there are 15 extra children enrolled compared to the September just gone. The school did not meet that test of 15. There is also a criteria for appeal where there is an intake into junior infants of 30, but that does not apply in this case. It had an intake substantially below that number. Unfortunately, the appeal grounds were not met and these are applied uniformly across the system to 3,200 schools. The appeal board must deal with each of those cases fairly on its merits according to the criteria to be applied.