Michelle Mulherin (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join in the congratulations to our two new colleagues, Senators Lawlor and Marshall. I wish them well in their tenure in this House and look forward to engaging with them in that regard. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Education and Skills to the House to address an issue with which hundreds of rural primary schools around the country are struggling. These are small schools located in rural areas. Many of their buildings are old buildings, which have usually been upgraded. Perhaps they might have an extension or something similar. In many cases, there are narrow and dangerous roads leading to these schools. Many of those schools were built at a time when the only traffic going to school was on foot. The students walked to school. That is the reality. There is a lot more traffic on the roads now and many of these schools struggle to provide proper traffic management and parking. A case in point is a school in my area at Barr na Caóige near Swinford.