I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise the need for the appointment of a remedial teacher to service the three primary schools at Croagh, Kilfinny and Cappagh in west County Limerick. The schools concerned have a large number of multiple classes and there are several families who have children attending the schools who suffer from cystic fibrosis and, as a result, have a high absence level and do not have remedial help available to them on their return. I declare a personal interest in this regard as one of the parents of the children with cystic fibrosis going to Kilfinny school.
Pupils of the school have been assessed by the Brothers of Charity at Bawnmore and remedial help has been recommended for them. Consequently, pupils have had to transfer outside the school area where remedial help is available; some of the parents are forced to pay for private tuition.
All the nation's children should be treated equally. Children in smaller rural schools should have the same facilities and opportunities as those in large urban areas. However, the children in the Croagh, Kilfinny and Cappagh schools requiring remedial help are being deprived of it. This is unfair and discriminatory. I ask the Minister for State to ensure that the situation is corrected and that a remedial teacher will be appointed for the commencement of the next school year.
When a child needs remedial teaching it is important that he or she gets remedial help at primary level. The problem of educational disadvantage must be addressed at this stage. It is important that the identification of problems is made at an early stage in a child's school life. Children who are unable to cope with school must be professionally assisted and the inability of schools to cope with these children must also be addressed. The children with problems in Croagh, Kilfinny and Cappagh rural schools do not have a remedial teacher and are thus being discriminated against by the Department.
Under-achievement in school is not unique and is present in all communities. With the expectations and pressures placed on children to perform, it is essential that remedial teaching is available to all who require it. Learning difficulty is viewed as the gap between the attainment of pupils and their potential. Remedial teaching aims at closing the gap by providing additional specialised teaching on an individual or small group basis.
In the schools I am discussing there are children in need of this assistance and until it is available to them the education system has failed them. The absence of remedial teaching is clearly identified in the transition of pupils from primary to secondary schools. Such pupils experience extreme difficulties and many do not complete secondary education. The Programme for a Partnership Government committed the Minister to employ 500 extra remedial teachers by 1996. I ask the Minister to appoint one of these to serve the Croagh, Kilfinny and Cappagh national schools in County Limerick.
I thank the Minister for State for coming here this evening. It is always welcome and, indeed, important that a Minister responsible for an area is present for a debate on the Adjournment.
