Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am just shooting the breeze here.

Also on behalf of the Sinn Féin team, I wish everyone in these Houses a peaceful Christmas, especially the staff of the Seanad Office, Martin and Bridget, the staff in the Cathaoirleach's office, Members of all parties and none, the cleaners, the ushers, the catering staff, the bar staff, the gardaí onsite and off, the transcript team, and the staff of Bills Office and the OPLA. The list goes on. I wish everyone a merry Christmas.

I raise an issue about education on Inishbofin. Much of our time in these Houses is spent discussing the importance of rural Ireland, yet children living on Inishbofin are forced to leave home at the age of 12 to access secondary school. Young children and families are forced to decide if they should live with another caregiver or one of their parents or if the entire family should leave the island. As the Galway-Roscommon Education and Training Board's report published in March 2020 makes clear, the lack of post-primary education on Inishbofin leaves the island not only disadvantaged in comparison with other rural communities but also in comparison with other islands. I am at a loss as to why this is the case. Instead of supporting the education of children on the island, for 20 years the Department has paid between €50,000 and €100,000 annually in remote area grants to fund secondary school students from Inishbofin to attend school elsewhere. In total, this ad hocapproach has cost between €1 million and €2 million, which hardly seems prudent. It hardly seems consistent with the Government's stated policies in Ireland's spatial and rural strategies, education policy and islands policy. The Inishbofin Community Post-Primary Steering Group has done phenomenal work and it is now time for the Government to properly consider its report on Inishbofin.Another September cannot pass with children and families forced to make this difficult and life-altering decision.