Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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175. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which her Department continues to support the various smaller denominational and non-denominational rural and urban schools, with a view to ensuring that the highest possible standards in education remain available to children in all areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22684/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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My Department is very aware of the importance of small schools to rural communities, and particularly the most dispersed and remote communities. To sustain such communities, I recently announced two new policy measures. The first measure provides for improved changes to the staffing schedule for small schools that are more than 8 km distant from the next nearest school of the same type of patronage and language of instruction. The second measure is the development of a voluntary amalgamation protocol for the very smallest schools that have reducing enrolments and are located within an 8 km distance of a school of similar patronage and language of instruction. Both these measures are intended to provide rural communities with security about the future of their small schools.