Anne Rabbitte (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I give a warm welcome to Lucan Educate Together National School. Today, I am raising an issue to do with national schools. I would like a debate in the Seanad on education but particularly regarding the provision of additional classrooms that are required in rural national schools in particular. I know of a rural national school that has only two classrooms but three teachers and they are expected to teach four classes in each. They are being asked by the Department to do team-teaching and they also have to do the special education down in a very small classroom. What the Department has asked of the school with its allocation of the third teacher is to go and find accommodation in the local community hall. There is no footpath to the local community centre. I am talking about a rural setting here. The local national school I am talking about is Tiernascragh National School in County Galway. The principal asked the Department if the school could rent a Portakabin but said the school would need to be able to rent it straight away because of planning permission and everything else. The answer from the Department of education was "Absolutely not". I am sure the Minister is not aware this is going on. This is the planning unit within the Department of education. What needs to happen here is that the go-ahead needs to be given to be able to rent a Portakabin to keep the children all on the one site for play, learning, education and inclusion. We have moved away from that segregation. It is about the integration of children in the one yard. When you have a small rural place it is about the sense of community and of getting to know your neighbours. I am sure I am not raising the case of the only school with such provisions. I compliment the teachers, the parents' association and the board of management for having grown the numbers. The growth of the numbers is down to the fact that people are choosing to come back, live locally and at the same time want to educate their children locally. My ask here is funding for Portakabins in time in order that all children can have access to education on the one site.