Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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183. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will continue her support smaller urban or rural schools with a denominational ethos; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44410/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I am very aware of the importance of small schools to rural communities and particularly the most dispersed and remote communities. In this regard, I made two particular improvements to the staffing schedule for small schools this school year. The first measure provides for improved teacher retention thresholds for schools of 1 - 4 teachers. The second measure is an improved teacher allocation threshold for isolated 1-teacher schools that are more than 8km distant from the next nearest school of the same type of patronage and language of instruction. Both these improvements are intended to support small schools and to sustain the communities they serve.