Seanad debates

Wednesday, 8 February 2012

Investment in Education: Motion

 

6:00 pm

Photo of Fidelma Healy EamesFidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

I have grave concerns about Gaeltacht schools. We are about to publish a Bill on the Gaeltacht, but how will we resource that without the schools? We need to keep the teacher where we can. Rural schools are different from urban schools and should be treated differently - I have taught in both. The Minister of State knows as well as I do that rural schools are more interconnected with and reliant on the community, and are embedded in the community. The loss of a teacher in a rural school is more deeply felt than in an urban community. It is wrong to compare on enrolment only. I am glad the departmental officials are also present. This is a mistake that overlooks the added value of a rural education. I ask the Minister to consider these criteria when assessing the value of a rural school. While I accept that enrolment at and the financial position of the school need to be considered, we must also consider the quality of the education otherwise we will need to invest in these schools in the future. We also need to consider the value of that local school to the community.

I will finish with this example. I live in a place called Maree, Oranmore. There are 200 children there now. In the mid-1980s when Garrett FitzGerald was in power there was a two- or three-teacher school there. Had he brought in this policy then there might be no school in our community now. I call on the Minister to ensure that in ten or 15 years time when we are well off again, please God, let us not have no young people in certain parts of rural Ireland. Population follows schools and the evidence is there to show it. Let us not socially engineer a solution that could erode vibrant rural communities.

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