Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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Question 196: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the names of schools he intends to close in County Cork; and the dates on which he intends to close them. [3533/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I want to clarify for the Deputy that I have no intention to forcibly close any schools, in County Cork or elsewhere in Ireland , arising from the announcement I made on 5th December 2011. I would advise the Deputy to read the detail of that announcement, available on www.education.ie, so he can familiarise himself with what I actually announced in the Budget.

The criteria under which National Schools are recognised by the Department are outlined in the Education Act 1998 and the Rules for National Schools. Under the criteria, recognition can be withdrawn where a school's pupil enrolment returns to the Department, at 30th September, falls below 8 pupils and remains at this level for at least two consecutive years and where the Patron is satisfied that there is little prospect of a reversal in the school's pupil enrolment trend. My Department is not aware of any school in County Cork that currently does not meet the above criteria.