Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 264: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of schools closed on 5 June 2009 to facilitate the holding of various elections; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26528/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Returning Officers are statutorily responsible for the conduct of elections in the various constituencies and may, under electoral law, use school premises for this purpose. Where a school is used as a polling station for elections on a day on which the school was scheduled to be open, the school authorities concerned are allowed to count the day of polling as a day of exceptional closing and are not required to make up that day for the purposes of meeting the minimum number of days tuition required in the school year. It is not necessary for such schools to seek the formal approval of my Department for such a closure. Data in respect of the number of schools designated as polling stations for the recent elections is not readily available within my Department.