Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail)

As I said earlier, it is obvious that I have struck a rather sensitive nerve somewhere. My grandfather, God rest him, came from the small community of Kilteevan in County Roscommon. By a strange coincidence, one of the schools that will be affected by this measure will be Kilteevan national school. There are still some Mooneys in the area. I received an e-mail from a cousin of mine who told me that the local school is one of the schools at risk of losing a teacher in the future if the Government continues to target rural schools. My cousin made the point that such schools are at the heart of the rural community. She said they give children a sense of local identity and the meaning of community spirit. She argued that it is inexcusable that such unique characteristics of rural Ireland are under threat. Kilteevan national school opened in 1897. My grandmother and my grandfather were educated there. My cousin's children are pupils there.