Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Andrews, to the House.

Mount Sion primary school was the first Christian Brothers school founded by Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice and the people of Waterford and the entire country are rightly very proud of it. It has provided education for all classes and its commitment to newcomers of ethnic origin is consistent with the work undertaken by its founder.

The school has appealed against its staffing allocation which, if implemented, will have devastating effects on staff and students alike and will result in the school having to struggle to provide the type of education which we expect and deserve today. This appeal from Mount Sion is not based on history or sentimentality but on the knowledge that the school is providing a service to a group of children and their parents and guardians that enables them to make real progress. Theirs is a worthy cause and I ask the Minister of State to make the correct decision and allow this school to continue its good work with the required number of staff. This school is a beacon for education in the heart of Waterford's inner city and the proposed cuts to its staffing are unfair and unworkable.

It appears that because in the period 30 September 2008 to 28 November 2008 the school, with 346 pupils, was one pupil short of the prescribed number, it is now to lose a mainstream teacher even though from 1 December 2008 until the present its enrolment is in excess of the prescribed number, 347 pupils. The projected enrolment figure for September 2009 is 358. Some 30% of the school population is of newcomer status or ethnic origin. Given that the school also stands to lose two language support teachers, the increase in class sizes arising from the loss of a mainstream class teacher will reduce learning opportunities for those children whose first language is not English. Consequently, the extra burden of support placed on the class teacher will be to the detriment of the other children and the class.

My colleague, Senator Paudie Coffey, will outline other reasons the appeal from this school should be upheld. I ask the Minister to allow this school to continue to raise the attainment standards of its pupils. To do this it needs to maintain its full complement of staff. In the interests of fairness and equity, I ask that this school be afforded the same opportunities that pupils have in similar schools in Waterford city and I hope the Minister of State will provide a positive response to this appeal.