Charlie McConalogue
Question:14. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the value for money report on small schools will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37959/14]
View answerWednesday, 8 October 2014
Questions (14)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
This is to ask the Minister when the value for money report on small schools will be published.
As I indicated earlier, I am reviewing the value for money report for small schools along with my Government colleagues. I intend to publish the report as soon as those considerations have been finalised.
I thank the Minister and acknowledge we discussed this matter briefly previously. This report rested on the desk of the Minister's predecessor for more than 18 months but I am now hearing the same story from the Minister as I heard from him during those 18 months, namely, the Minister intends to consider it but she is not setting a deadline regarding its publication. Meanwhile, the number of one-teacher schools has been increased fourfold by the Minister. Moreover, the pressure on the finances of those schools has put many of them in a position in which they are not sustainable, despite all the Minister's talk about sustainability. I ask the Minister one final time for a clear answer. Can she at least tell Members that this report will be published by Christmas? I believe it is not good enough to hear the same story for more than two years, which is that the Minister is considering the report.
First, I do wish to consider the report carefully. It is an issue of great concern to Members of this House and to people in many parts of the country. I have started to read it but I can tell the Deputy I have not yet finished reading it. As stated previously, I have also begun to discuss it with some of the partners in education and with some Government colleagues. While I intend to publish it, I do not wish to give the Deputy a deadline because I wish to make sure the Government has enough time to consider the recommendations and make its own decisions thereon. The Government may not agree with them - I do not know - but it must make its own decisions and must ensure that these decisions are sustainable. I acknowledge the Deputy has stated that I have used that word earlier but we genuinely need sustainable schools that are able to operate appropriately for their local communities.
After 18 months of this report being on the Department's desk, the fact that the current Minister is merely in the process of reading it demonstrates this is an issue about which the Government has no real intention of having an honest debate or of publishing, in order that everyone can address it. I reiterate that a key feature of the Government has been the pressure it has mounted on four, three and two-teacher schools, as well as the number of one-teacher schools it has created as a result. Members hear nothing from the Minister about the issue of educational quality in these schools as a result of the measures the Government has been taking. Instead, the Minister talks about sustainability, as she goes about making schools unsustainable. I urge the Minister to publish the report and to have no more of the same old story to which Members have been listening for almost two years and to which it appears they also will be listening for the next 18 months until the next general election. An honest debate is needed in this regard. The Government must front up and the Minister should publish the report in order that a real debate can be held to ensure the education of children and how that is done will be put at the centre of this Dáil.
The Government does wish to put children at the centre and that is precisely what all its members wish to do. However, I intend to read this report in its entirety very carefully. I do not intend to rely on any official to tell me what it contains but wish to ascertain this for myself. It is quite complex and contains a great deal of detail. While I believe it deserves that level of respect, I give Deputy McConalogue an undertaking that I will not allow this to drag on indefinitely. I believe it is necessary to have a proper debate on it and to have that as soon as possible.
Written Answers follow Adjournment.