I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter on the Adjournment. Like my colleagues, I am disappointed that the Minister with responsibility for the area in which I am particularly interested, that of remedial education, is not here to answer the question.
The replies given to my colleagues tonight do not augur well for the people I represent, namely, the young people in County Clare who have not had, nor does it seem likely that they will have in the coming year, an opportunity for remedial education. I raise this matter because in 1994-95 five remedial teachers were appointed to County Clare. In 1995-96 only one appointment was made. Now it appears that in 1996-97 no remedial teachers will be appointed to County Clare. Out of 123 schools in Clare, almost half have no remedial teacher.
It is most important — I am sure the Minister who is present to answer this question will agree — that it is the right of every child to have remedial teaching if he or she is in need of that service whether he or she happens to live in an urban or rural area. In putting forward proposals to deal with disadvantage, the Minister should, once again, look at the definition of disadvantage. The Minister's proposal to put one co-ordinator into a cluster of schools in each county seems daft. It could only be termed a pilot scheme. It could be seen also as ghettoising: it does not address the real problem of disadvantage and the need for remedial teaching.
What is the point in appointing a co-ordinator to a cluster of rural schools to assist those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds when these schools do not even have a remedial teacher? The Minister for Education must reassess her priorities. I hope she will realise, even this late in the day, that her priority must be to primary school level and, within primary school level, her priority should be the provision of remedial teaching to children in rural and urban areas.
A number of schools in County Clare have been waiting for 30 years for a remedial service. This year, with 300 teachers available for redeployment, the opportunity should have been taken to appoint one remedial teacher to clusters of, perhaps, three to four primary schools, rather than having the unrealistic situation we have in Clare which I am sure pertains to other areas as well of having a remedial teacher for clusters of five, six or seven schools. That is not the way to address the serious problems of education. When we have 300 teachers to be redeployed this year, the whole question of remedial teachers and the lowering of the pupil-teacher ratio should be addressed.
I hope when the Minister of State replies that he will not simply read yet another irrelevant reply. I hope I will be able to bring home good news to the people of County Clare. Not only the teachers but the parents and the people in the local area who have educational interests at heart hope that in fighting for the provision of a remedial service for the children will hear a more positive reply than we have heard in recent weeks from the Minister with regard to the whole question of remedial teaching. I hope that if she does decide to reassess her position the Minister will do so positively along the lines I have suggested so that all young girls and boys will have the same chance at primary level of reaching their full potential. The Minister for Education should realise that that should be one of her most important and, perhaps, primary functions.