asked the Minister for Education if he is aware that the school-going children on Horse Island, Ballydehob, have to be conveyed by boat to the mainland to attend school; that this sea journey is uncertain and sometimes dangerous; and if in the circumstances he is prepared to provide educational facilities on the island.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Educational Facilities on County Cork Island.
From the information at my disposal there are at present on Horse Island only six children eligible for enrolment as pupils in a national school. Four of them are between six and 14 years of age and would normally be required, under the School Attendance Act, to attend school. The establishment of a school on the island for such a small number of children would not be war— ranted under the official regulations.
I have no evidence that a boat service would not be feasible and, to enable the children between six and 14 years of age to take advantage of educational facilities, I am prepared to consider an application for a Grant-in-Aid towards the cost of a boat service to convey them daily to and from school, or, alternatively, for Grants-in-Aid, on an approved scale, towards the cost of their maintenance in the homes of relatives or friends on the mainland.