Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail)

Tá lúcháir orm go bhfuil deis agam labhairt faoin Bhille seo atá os comhair an tSeanaid inniu don Dara Léamh. Bille tábhachtach é ó thaobh cúrsaí oideachais de, go háirithe i dtaca le múinteoirí, an fhoirm teagaisc agus an ról atá ag múinteoirí agus na deiseanna a bheidh ag múinteoirí postanna a fháil amach anseo. Tá cuid mhór cainte agus plé faoi láthair faoi seo.

As the Minister will be aware, there is currently much discussion in the educational sector about the many experienced and committed professional teachers who will be leaving the system in the coming weeks. It is important to ensure that those posts are replaced. In my own constituency, three out of four teachers in a school in the heart of a Gaeltacht area are taking the redundancy package at the end of February. Three teachers will be on panels to replace those fluent native Irish speakers. Because of the way the panel is structured, the principal must accept the person who is placed highest on the panel even though the individual may not have fluency in Irish and may not be able to perform their duties through the medium of Irish. Up to the end of June therefore that Gaeltacht school will face those difficulties. I ask the Minister to examine that situation.

As I mentioned on the Adjournment last week, retention figures for small schools and the staffing schedules involved are currently matters of concern in the education sector. Changes have been made to schools with 86 pupils or less, so alarm bells are ringing in all such schools. We have 3,200 primary schools, some 47% of which have five teachers or less. All the international expertise shows that pupils in smaller schools gain educational advantage over those in larger establishments. As a public representative from rural Ireland, I would argue strongly that the cost savings to be achieved by closing or amalgamating schools - or by reducing teacher numbers - cannot be justified simply on the basis of efficiencies. While the McCarthy report may have recommended that the amalgamations would save €25 million, the Minister should forget about that. He should make a calculated decision to protect small schools so that those children can continue to receive primary education in their own areas. As hundreds of millions of euro have been spent on upgrading small schools in recent years, it would be to the detriment of rural areas if such schools were forced to amalgamate now.

Following last week's Adjournment debate, I got a reply which said that no school will be closed by the Minister. In effect, however, the conditions being imposed on small schools will be so stringent, with the loss of teachers and resource teaching hours, that they will be forced to amalgamate. That is currently happening in the North of Ireland, which is worse than what the Minister is proposing. Any school with fewer than 105 pupils in the North of Ireland is facing the possibility of extinction. I know that because I have a number of relations teaching in schools in the North of Ireland. In fact, I have a cousin - to whom I spoke yesterday - who is principal of a school in the North of Ireland where they are very concerned by the cuts.

I appeal to the Minister to protect smaller schools here. I have received communications from teachers and teacher unions concerning the Bill before us. My colleague Senator Averil Power, who is the Fianna Fáil education spokesperson, has made these points also. I note that there will be consultation on the redeployment and dismissal of teachers, and that the Minister will be given greater power in this respect. However, that is a cause of great concern, particularly to younger teachers. If the Minister's policy proposal concerning schools with 86 pupils or less is to be implemented, younger teachers will inevitably be put onto panels. I hope the Minister will reverse that policy change but if not we will see many younger teachers being forced onto panels. If the Croke Park agreement is amended or torn up, their future will be in limbo.

I have spoken to many younger teachers who are concerned about section 6 of the Bill. I ask the Minister to take those concerns into consideration. We will have an opportunity to table amendments on Committee Stage and Senator Averil Power is working on that. Section 6 is one of the most worrying parts of the legislation.

Perhaps the Minister can clarify why the education disadvantage committee, which has been in existence since 2005, is being abolished. I know that time is limited and I thank my county colleague, Senator Harte, for being lenient with me. I am sure we will have more time to debate the Bill in greater detail on Committee Stage. At the moment, education is at a crossroads and that is particularly the case for small, rural schools. We must protect the teachers who work in them.