Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 March 2014
390. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason his Department initiated a value for money review of two-teacher schools and not on larger schools; his views that a review carried out in such isolation could not provide a comprehensive comparative analysis of value for money in schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14073/14]
View answerThe selection of small primary school provision for a value for money review needs to be considered in the context of our overall primary school provision. Ireland has over 3,000 primary schools. This is a high proportion of schools relative to our population. About one fifth of them are small schools with under 50 pupils enrolled. This constitutes a substantial, distinct group of schools on which to conduct a review. The small schools were not reviewed in isolation. The review's terms of reference stipulated that the small schools be examined in the context of overall primary school provision.
