Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I will give him a rough guide to the school and the service it gives to the students, particularly to those in the area of Bagenalstown. The proposed closure of the Muine Bheag vocational school, which was announced in March 2016, was a devastating blow to the community of Bagenalstown. Parents, students and staff alike were shocked by the unexpected announcement from the Carlow-Kilkenny Education and Training Board, ETB. After that, an action group was formed with the aim of overturning this decision. There was a sense of betrayal and loss at the prospect of the closure of the school, which had provided quality education to the people of Bagenalstown and surrounding areas for 54 years.

Students of Muine Bheag vocational school enjoy a rich educational environment and access to a broad spectrum of subjects including modern languages, business information, Irish, English and the STEM subjects - science, mathematics and engineering. Students have enjoyed enormous success in a wide variety of extra-curricular areas such as promoting mental health. The school was awarded the amber flag in 2015. The students have mini-enterprises. They provide such a service to the community. The school has a state-of-the-art sports hall which was only opened in 2015. I believe more than €1 million was spent on that building.

Muine Bheag vocational school prides itself on extending the educational experience beyond the school walls and into the greater community of surrounding Bagenalstown. In keeping with the school's DEIS status, equality of opportunity and access to education are of the highest priority in initiatives such at the "One book, One community" scheme, which promotes literacy in the community but also acts as a catalyst for community involvement. All the primary schools, secondary schools and community groups in the area were given a sense of ownership with this particular project, which was a great success.

At the heart of the ethos of Muine Bheag vocational school is the breaking down of barriers to education at all levels. The school has been active in providing numerous literacy programmes for parents, supporting their education development. This has been crucial for the school itself. The importance of life-long learning and access to education are at the core of the beliefs of Muine Bheag vocational school. This is also evident in the provision of the adult junior certificate and leaving certificate programmes.

Muine Bheag vocational school is an integral part of the local community and, as such, it strives to maintain links with businesses in the community. It has a great system wherein students go to businesses and work with them. It is also important to note the school has a great system in respect of apprenticeships. That is crucial going forward. The issue of apprenticeships in every school needs to be addressed. In keeping with its values, the school has also set up an autism spectrum disorder, ASD, unit in the Carlow-Kilkenny region, which supports students on the autism spectrum with additional educational needs. Continuity of care and predictable routines are essential for students with autism spectrum disorders. The lack of planning for their future care is really irresponsible when dealing with an ASD unit. At the moment, we do not know what is happening. The school also provides the applied leaving certificate. These are all crucial programmes which this school provides.

These are the real questions. This all happened on 10 March. The CEO informed the school that there would be no more enrolment for first-year students. This was a shock to the community. On 14 March, there was a meeting with the parents at which the junior and senior cycles were spoken about. There was a big public meeting in the McGrath hall on 29 March and from that a task force was set up. When it had finished its few months and carried out a study, the task force said it would give the school an extra 12 months, which it did. This school currently has 120 students. There are 40 students on post-leaving certificate, PLC, courses. On the leaving certificate applied programme, there are six students in fifth year and six in sixth year. A total of 172 students attend Muine Bheag vocational school. I cannot explain to the Minister the service this school provides and how important it is to the parents and students. Does the Minister support the Kilkenny and Carlow ETB? Will he support the retention of this school? Can he clearly set out the roles and responsibility of the CEO of the ETB in respect of communication with parents at a time when the school is at risk of closure? What are the roles and responsibilities of the ETB board of management of Muine Bheag vocational school in identifying that the school has a low intake of first years that is impacting on retaining sufficient staff levels to deliver the full curriculum? What is the criterion for recommending closure? My final question is crucial. What effect will the introduction of the new special education model in March have on the closure of the school, the students and the number of teachers the school would lose based on the new calculations? I thank the Minister for coming to the House.