Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy John Halligan. I thank Senator Lombard who has made his case very strongly. I do not know either of another case in Ireland like the one he describes. I was a principal in a rural school and in an urban one and I attended a two-teacher school as a child. As such, I understand how important it is to have a school in a community.

Regarding supports for the transport of children from Sherkin Island to schools on the mainland, the ferry passenger service described by the Senator involves parents having to arrive at 12 noon and they must sit waiting for their children for an hour and a half and then two hours and a half. They are great and very patient parents. A ferry passenger service is provided under a subsidy from the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht with several daily sailings. Once children are at the pier on the mainland, a number of services are available to provide transport to the primary school in Baltimore and to post-primary schools in Rosscarbery, Clonakilty and Skibbereen. Regarding the Senator's question, a request has been received for the establishment of a dedicated school transport facility separate from the current service to transport children to Rath national school in Baltimore. Discussions are ongoing between officials in the Department of Education and Skills and the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht on this request.

I will take what the Senator has said and his description of the hardship experienced by parents and children and ensure the Department of Education and Skills knows exactly what is happening. Discussions must speed up between the two relevant Departments.