Ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá ar an Mheastachán seo, agus ba chóir go mbeadh an chéad fhocal i dteanga ár sinnsir, an Ghaeilg. Ba mhaith liom comhgháirdeachas agus mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire Oideachais as an méid atá déanta aige ar son oideachais in Éirinn. Is íontach an obair atá déanta aige, agus tá rian a chuid saothair le feiceáil ní amháin ar fud an Mheastacháin seo ach ar fud na hÉireann. Níl mórán Gaeilge agamsa, ach is cuma faoi sin. Tá dualgas orainn úsáid a bhaint as an méid Gaeilge atá againn gach am is féidir. Is cóir go mbeimís go léir ag caint Gaeilge ar an ócáid seo. Taobh amuigh de pháirtí polaitíochta, taobh amuigh de pholasaí pháirtí pholatíochta, tá an dualgas orainn go léir cuidiú le chéile chun an Ghaeilg d'aibheochaint agus an teanga a chur ar ais in Éirinn mar is dual dí. Dá dtuigeadh na daoine chomh práinneach is atá an cheist seo, do bheadh a mhalairt de scéal againn. Ach, fairíor, tá formhór muintir na hÉireann ina gcodladh sámh, gan suim acu sa Ghaeilg ná i gcultúr na tíre. Tá a lán seoiníní in ár measc go fóil.
Those of us on this side of the House are not unmindful of or ungrateful for the welcome breakthrough which has been made in our archaic and outmoded educational system, and it is undoubtedly to the Minister for Education, Deputy O'Malley, that the greatest credit belongs for this welcome breakthrough. There was never any doubt or ambiguity as to where we in the Labour Party stood in respect of this vital matter of education. We have always said that education should be free to all. From the very foundation of our Party over 50 years ago, we have stood by the firm conviction that investment in education would bring a rich and lasting reward to this nation.
We have always said that our system of education should be based not on privilege, not on the ability of the parent to pay, as it has been for so long, but on the ability of the child to benefit. We have always contended that a nation which was underdeveloped educationally would always remain underdeveloped economically, and this is as it has been in this country for the past 40 years. We neglected the most essential thing of all, the human resources of our people, their talents, and we in the Labour Party long for the day when the children of this nation will be free at last to give their talents, their energies and their genius in the service of their own country, and I emphasise "their own country". What a terrible waste it would be if the vast amount of money now being expended were to be wasted and that the exodus, the haemorrhage of emigration were to continue, if the flower of our youth on whom we are now conferring, very largely, free education, were to go abroad for a livelihood, and all that expenditure and sacrifice were to go for nought.
It would be unfortunate if we were again to face a situation where some 40,000 boys and girls who come out of our schools each year having completed their education could not find a means of livelihood, a means of applying their talents and their energies for the benefit of their own country, for the rejuvenation of this decaying economy of ours, for the greater prosperity of our country in the years ahead. While acknowledging the progress which has been made and paying due tribute to the Minister for his courage and his daring in bringing about this advance, let me say there is no room for complacency. It is not a time for jubilation or for throwing hats in the air. It is not a time for the Fianna Fáil Party, for the Minister, or even the hierarchy of his Department to form themselves into a mutual admiration society of backslappers as if all was well with our education system.
All is not well. There is a long way to go. There are still grievous defects in our educational system, and that is evidenced by the deplorable conditions in which thousands of our children are obliged to remain during their school life, in cold, damp, dilapidated, insanitary and often rat-infested school-houses, a threat to their health, schools where it is clear that it is impossible for a teacher to teach or a pupil to learn. This is a system which purports to be free, and yet the only way parents can secure free books, which are an essential ingredient in education, and a very costly one too, is by the parents and children subjecting themselves to an odious means test to ascertain whether they possess a medical card. As members of local authorities, we all know the kind of inquisition and the odious means test which apply in respect of securing a medical card. For, to secure a medical card, it must be clear that the applicant is unable, by his own industry or other lawful means, to provide a health service for himself and his family. Large numbers of people, thousands of ordinary working-class people are precluded from having their names placed on the health register. In other words, they are denied medical cards by reason of the rigid means test which the county managers apply.
It is a matter of humiliation and distress for children when this test is applied. I am appealing to the Minister to remove this blot, this stigma, from an otherwise relatively good educational system, especially when one sees evidence of a positive vested interest in respect of the supply of school books. One sees evidence of changes in books, regular changes in textbooks, which are a source of great worry and great financial cost to the parents. It is a pity the Minister did not stand up to this challenge of the vested interests in respect of the supply of school books and say it must end, and that the odious means test, this terrible embarrassment to children and parents, must be removed from the system.
With regard to the transport service, a charge is laid down for transport for certain categories of children. Worse than that, it is difficult for the ordinary layman to understand why school buses should pass little children on the road going to schools in the same town, especially on winter mornings. It is difficult to understand why these children cannot be provided with the shelter of these buses. Many of the children to whom I am referring live further away and, in many cases, their parents are poorer than the parents of the children who enjoy this free transport. I appreciate that the Minister has reasons why these children should be passed by, why they should be refused admission to these school buses, but outwardly on a cold bleak morning to see these school buses passing by little children of tender age would strike one as a very hard and very callous approach. We would hope that an arrangement could be made whereby all these children going to the same town could be provided for on the school bus.
The much-awaited break-through in respect of extra help, much needed and urgent help, for our university students has not yet been achieved. The Minister is well aware of the sacrifices which so many thousands of Irish university students are making in trying to maintain themselves at the university. The cost of digs, meals, clothing, appliances, books and so on, is a formidable impost on the student who comes, perhaps, from a poor or relatively poor family. These students are making a great sacrifice and this is an added handicap and an added burden for the poor man's child trying to get through the university today. It was hoped in this instance that the Minister would see his way to providing a decent maintenance allowance for our university students. It is a matter of deep disappointment to me and my colleagues in the Labour Party that provision has not been made on this occasion for such an essential facility.
The indiscriminate closure of schools without due regard to the wishes of the parents is a matter of concern to many of us. While believing that a larger centre of education is bound of necessity to give better facilities to the pupils, and provide them with better education, we think it behoves the Minister and the Department to consult with the parents before a closure. A position has now been created in which the Minister and his officials are taking up the attitude that they know best what suits the children, and that they will close schools despite the confirmed opinion of the parents that this ought not to be done, or that there was an alternative. I am submitting that parents have rights in matters of this kind, and that their views should be taken fully into account before a decision is made to close a school. I hope to elaborate on this matter of closures later on in my remarks with special reference to closures in my own constituency and the feelings of shock and dismay which many of those proposed closures has caused.
I was particularly pleased to see that at last there are positive proposals for the commencement of the erection of schools of technology in the spring of this year. That is something we in the Labour Party look forward to with hope and enthusiasm, because we know there is an acute shortage of skills and we hope that through the medium of the schools of technology we will find the kind of technicians, craftsmen, tradesmen and so on, we so badly require in order to make some worthwhile industrial advancement.
I also notice the amount of money which the Minister is making available to CIE for extra school buses. We are all very grateful to CIE for the way they have responded to the Minister's appeal for a school transport service and they have carried out a formidable task smoothly and efficiently. It is, however, a matter of concern to me that owners of private transport would not be considered in the provision of school buses. Many of them have been, but I know in my constituency of an owner of some excellent school buses that have not been taken up by the Department. It is difficult to understand why this is so, because in this area, which is well known to the Parliamentary Secretary, Deputy Davern, who has just come in, the Cashel area, there is need for an improvement in the school transport service. Yet, these excellent buses are lying idle and are not availed of, while extra moneys are being voted in this Estimate to CIE for the provision of new buses. Private enterprise should be given some recognition in this matter. I am concerned that a man of not very great means should have incurred the expense of purchasing two buses which he believed would be used by the Department for the free transport service. As yet, despite representations, certainly by myself, to the Minister, the buses are still idle while we have a clearly defective school transport service which means that children are obliged to get up exceptionally early in the mornings and return home pretty late in the evenings. This causes concern to parents, especially in the case of children of tender years.
Earlier, I expressed concern that school closures were taking place without at least seeking the goodwill of the parents. I appreciate the necessity to close certain old schools, the need for mergers to ensure better education but it behoves the Minister, in the interests of education and particularly of the children, that he should try to secure the goodwill, understanding and co-operation of parents. I know of schools which were closed and the school transport service put into operation, and the school buses now arriving in the area are regarded rather as if they were Black Marias arriving to take the children, as it were, forcibly from the parents and imprison them for a number of hours per day. This is bad psychologically. There is, perhaps, need to educate the parents and this should be done. It is bad to have this sort of situation arising.
A number of schools have been closed in my constituency. The most recently proposed closures are at Marlfield and Ballyheaphy. In Marlfield, there has been a protracted withdrawal of children, a school strike, if you like, that has received a lot of publicity in the papers and other mass media. From a reply to a question last week, it seems the Minister has taken up the attitude that it is still in the best interests of the children that they should be transported to Clonmel. I attended a number of meetings of parents concerned in Marlfield with his Lordship, the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Dr. Russell, and meetings also with the Minister's representative. I have attended many such meetings in regard to closures but I have yet to experience such a determined approach as that of the parents in this case and such a conviction on their part that they are right and that it is intrinsically wrong to close this school, that it is wholly unjustified and that the simple solution is to carry out minor repairs which, in fact, is all that is required in this case.
The school needs proper sanitary facilities, proper heating and lighting; otherwise, it is reasonably good. It is staffed by two excellent teachers and has turned out some excellent pupils who have won themselves high places. I say this—I see Deputy Davern smiling —not because I happen to be one of them myself but because we can point to many who have got high places in Church and State in this country, and indeed many other countries. I think the Minister is unwise in this matter because the tradition at Marlfield school has always been that when children have spent a few years there and have had their formative education there at the primary level, they automatically gravitate towards the secondary schools in Clonmel. There was never any problem in that respect and they had little difficulty in getting to Clonmel, whether they walked, cycled or had a car.
The Minister's concern about better education does not arise in this instance and it would be a great pity if this otherwise excellent school with such a great tradition should be closed, especially as I know that this lovely village of Marlfield is to be improved and developed. There are already plans before South Tipperary County Council, of which I have the honour to be chairman, for the provision of a site for the erection of cottages. I hope the Minister will have another look at the situation and realise the determination of the people to retain the school, their loyalty to their teachers and the old tradition of the school and allow them to retain it. This would not diminish their educational opportunities in any way. I trust the Minister will fall in with their wishes and have the minor repairs, which will not be very costly, carried out so that educational facilities may continue at Marlfield.
In respect of the school at Ballyheaphy, Araglen, Kilworth, Co. Cork, which, despite the postal address, is in part of my constituency, here again there is agitation and opposition to its proposed closure. There is disappointment that the Department and the Minister have dishonoured what the people felt was a firm undertaking, if not a promise, to erect a new school at Ballyheaphy.
I understand from parents who visited me recently that plans for the erection of a new school at Ballyheaphy were drawn up two, four, five or perhaps six years ago and that it is difficult to pin responsibility for the delay on any individual or group. It was felt that this new school should have been provided a long time ago. I feel I am presenting the unanimous wishes of the parents of Araglen and district, many of whom are not of my political persuasion, when I say that the move to close Ballyheaphy is deeply resented and the people feel they are being let down by the disinclination, if not the refusal, of the Department to erect the promised new school. This is a mountainous area and it will be difficult to provide transport. I understand that the terrain is such that the pupils are spread over a wide area and that the teachers and pupils may have to be dispersed between a number of schools in the area, certainly at least two.
In regard to school closures, I want to refer to the threatened closure of certain vocational schools in my constituency. In the virtual amalgamation of secondary and vocational education, in so far as certificates are concerned, it was never conveyed to the various vocational committees that there would be closures of technical schools. One can imagine the shock and dismay with which I and my colleagues in Clonmel received the news that the famed Mullinahone technical school was earmarked for closure. The shock and dismay were all the greater because Mullinahone school is unique in that it was built by the people themselves, by a great voluntary effort. Literally, the people built the school with their own hands.
Now they find that what they built up, this status symbol which exists in Mullinahone, this technical school, is, it seems, to be torn down by the Department of Education. This was dreadful news, coming as it did a few months ago when we were commemorating the centenary of the Fenian Rising. One might wonder what the Fenian Rising has to do with Mullinahone, but anyone who knows his history will realise that Mullinahone is synonymous with Charles J. Kickham, the great literary man who sacrificed everything so that his country might be free, whose philosophy might be summed up in the words "Educate that you may be free."
I am sorry the Minister has been compelled to leave because I was going to make a fervent appeal to him not to close Mullinahone school. It would be a retrograde step, tantamount to an act of vandalism, and in addition, it is quite unnecessary. The suggestion that the children should be transported to Callan, which is a considerable number of miles away, is certainly not well received by the parents. The vocational educational committee to a man are deeply disturbed and I would ask the Minister and the Department to give up this idea of closing this school. It is in a town which has no industry of any kind. It is a fair sized market town, depending on the farming community in the hinterland. This technical school, which, as I said, is a status symbol, is a source of inspiration and pride to the people of the town. It is the hub of their cultural activity and the Minister's advisers do not realise the damage they will be doing if they proceed along these lines.
Psychologically, the closing of Mullinahone school will have disastrous consequences. That this school which they created, their university, should be taken away from them in this way is an act of ingratitude which they would feel very deeply. This is not just the closure of a school; it is a threat to all that the community holds dear and it must not be allowed to happen. I appeal to my colleague, the Parliamentary Secretary, Deputy Davern, and to Deputy Fahey who is here also to use their good offices and their influence with the Government to see that this deplorable decision is not implemented.
The man to whom I have referred, Charles J. Kickham, this great literary giant who stood shoulder to shoulder with Rossa and Devoy and all these great men of the Fenian movement, left us in Tipperary many things which we cherish. Among his great literary achievements is a book called Knocknagow, otherwise known as The Homes of Tipperary. I am pleading now for this school which was built by the men and women of Tipperary with their own hands and which has served the homes of Tipperary in Mullinahone and its surrounding areas for a goodly number of years. It would be an insult to the memory of Charles J. Kickham whom we commemorated last year at Mullinahone and paid due tribute to him for his courage, his daring and his sacrifices that this country of ours might be free. Ironically at about the time we were celebrating in Mullinahone—and my colleagues were with me there too on that occasion—plans were made and were being put into operation for the closure of the educational edifice which his successors created in that town. I hope I have said sufficient to save Mullinahone school and if I have not said sufficient to retain it and to convince the Minister of the worthiness of my plea, I can rely on countless stalwart men and women to give back the answer when the right time comes.
While I am talking of technical schools as such, I want to advert to a situation which has arisen at another worthy school in Tipperary, Cappawhite technical school. The Minister must be well aware of the repeated representations made to him by the CEO of the South Tipperary Vocational Education Committee expressing concern about what we consider to be the outright poaching of pupils from this catchment area and transporting them to an outside catchment area. I understood when these catchment areas were drawn up by the Department of Education that they were virtually sacrosanct and that it was intrinsically wrong for anyone to poach from one area to another. The vocational education committee, of which I am a member of long standing, is satisfied that endeavours have been made, and are probably continuing, to entice children to go to an outside technical school, children who are within the immediate area of Cappawhite and certainly within the catchment area and should be going to Cappawhite vocational school. They are being advised to go to another school in North Tipperary.
This constitutes a serious threat to the future of Cappawhite if allowed to continue and the person or persons of influence, and influence over parents in particular—and enticement is, as far as I am concerned, certainly a very moderate word to use in this matter—who can very easily entice them to send their children elsewhere, have done that. As a result, scores of children have been lost to Cappawhite technical school to which they had a particular allegiance and have been transported to Newport in North Tipperary instead.
For some reason or another, the Minister has been unable or unwilling to receive a deputation in respect of this important matter of the future of Cappawhite. He has had his legitimate excuse in recent weeks and months— the threat of the spread of the foot-and-mouth disease and his disinclination, perhaps understandably, to receive a deputation from the heart of Tipperary. I wonder if he is satisfied, in consultation with his colleague, the Minister for Agriculture, that the threat of foot-and-mouth has eased to the extent that he might now be good enough to receive this deputation. He will then hear confirmation of my expressions here of the anxiety and worry which agitates the minds of all the members of the vocational education committee, and particularly those members in the Cappawhite area, about the unfair poaching that has been going on and the violation of this catchment area. I should like the Minister to tell me at some stage whether he does regard the catchment areas as places in which the children would be expected to go to school within that area rather than being enticed or cajoled to go into another area.
These then are some of the sentiments I wanted to express in respect of the effects on our education system, on my constituents, and the schools of my constituency. I want to tell the Minister that I make a particularly special plea for the retention of Mullinahone vocational school. I feel that the Minister who is fair, understanding and progressive will see that Mullinahone is no ordinary school; Mullinahone is a symbol of all that is good and noble in that townland synonymous with the name of Kickham, the product of the people by a particularly great voluntary effort and something which must not and shall not be filched from them by any Department of Education.
We support the Minister in all his progressive designs. I congratulated him in my native tongue and I congratulate him now in English on his courage and daring in achieving this magnificent break-through in our education system. To him the greater credit belongs. I have mentioned some of the defects which still require to be attended to. No doubt they will receive attention in good time. We support the Minister in all that he does to bring about that happy day when we can have an Ireland of happy homes in which our children will be given an opportunity to apply their talents, energy and genius in the service of their country. That is the Ireland to which we all aspire.
I should like to conclude by expressing the ardent hope that an amicable understanding will be arrived at between the Minister's Department and the schools and parents to whom I have referred, and that we will not have too dictatorial an approach by the Minister's advisers on the question as to whether a school will be closed or remain open. We hope that there will be goodwill and co-operation so that we may go on together to build the free education system which we all desire.