I wish to raise an issue related to Scoil Cholmcille, Letterkenny, County Donegal. I visited the school recently and the principal and teachers are concerned that the eighteenth assistant teacher has been placed on the diocesan panel. On 30 September 1996 the school was one pupil short of the retention number required. They would have needed 541 pupils but they only had 540. The present enrolment is 544. It seems ludicrous for the school to lose a valued teacher. It will lead to the school having more mixed classes than it would wish with a corresponding concern for parents that the children in the mixed classes, that is third and fourth classes, are at a disadvantage. The school applied for disadvantaged status last year which unfortunately it did not obtain. I raised the matter in the House. It lost a teacher and it does not welcome the prospect of losing one this year.
Scoil Cholmcille has an increasing number of children from dysfunctional families and situations of social and financial deprivation and inadequate parenting. In many cases the children have poor home environments. I am concerned at the increasing number of children attending the school who are in need of remedial help. Letterkenny has experienced phenomenal growth over the past few years. Such unplanned and largely unforeseen growth has brought with it all the social problems associated with a major growth area. We have our share of difficulties with crime, vandalism, one parent families, poor housing, high rents, drug related problems and so on. Scoil Cholmcille has its fair share of children with problems. It is one of the few schools with a resource teacher and it has been burdened by the influx of students from other schools without such a service. This places an extra load on the resource teacher.
The school does not want to lose a teacher. I ask the Minister for Education to ensure that, although its enrolment may be one short of the number required, Scoil Cholmcille is allowed to retain its eighteenth assistant teacher to give the pupils the help and support they need.