asked the Minister for Education if he will state why, in view of the fact that 80 per cent. of the children attending Falcarragh National School, County Donegal, are in receipt of the £5 Gaeltacht grant, the school is not classified as a Fíor-Ghaeltacht school, thereby depriving students attending the school of the opportunity of competing for Gaeltacht and preparatory scholarships.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Falcarragh National School.
Under the rules and regulations for national schools it is necessary that three conditions be fulfilled before a school may be scheduled as being situated in the Fíor-Ghaeltacht, viz:—
(1) that it be situated in a district where Irish is generally spoken as the language of the homes;
(2) that a considerable proportion of the children coming to school for the first time know Irish only or know Irish better than English; and
(3) that instruction in the various subjects of the school programme (other than English) be given entirely through the medium of Irish.
An examination of the position in the case of Scoil Cheathrú Cheanainn, Falcarragh, which is presumably the school to which the Deputy refers, was made in the school year 1947-48. As a result of the investigations then made it was decided that the inclusion of the school in the list of Fíor-Ghaeltacht schools would not be warranted.
I have now arranged for the matter to be investigated again and I will advise the Deputy of the result as soon as possible.
I have to point out, however, that the Deputy is not correct in implying that pupils of this school are deprived of an opportunity of competing at the preparatory college entrance examination. They are not eligible to compete for the special places reserved thereat for pupils of schools scheduled as Fíor-Ghaeltacht, but these special places constitute only 25 per cent. of the total number of places available annually in the colleges, and a further 25 per cent. of the total number of places is reserved for candidates who obtain 85 per cent. or over in oral Irish at the examination irrespective of the scheduling of the school attended.