asked the Minister for Education when he proposes to put into operation transport facilities for the children of Reengaroga Island, so that they may avail of primary education.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Transport of School Children.
I wish to refer the Deputy to the reply given regarding this matter on 22nd November, 1951. The circumstances of the case have altered since then only to the extent that there are now five children between six and 14 years of age residing on the island, of whom four would be eligible for conveyance by a transport service to school on the mainland.
For the reasons given in my previous reply I regret that sanction of a grant-in-aid of a van service would not be warranted under the regulations.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that I got an assurance from the Minister that this service would be provided? Could he give any reason why that decision was altered since I asked the last parliamentary question?
Mr. Lynch
I think the Deputy was a bit too optimistic in saying that he got an assurance. I have the reply to the supplementary question made by the Minister before me. As reported in column 1221 of the Official Report——
I am not referring to the Dáil Report but to a personal assurance which I got from the Minister. I would expect that any Minister would honour an assurance given. I should like to know from the Parliamentary Secretary why that decision was altered? I am claiming that I got a personal assurance that this transport would be provided from the Minister for Education and I can give very good grounds why that assurance should be kept. We hear a lot of talk about the deterioration of rural Ireland. These children have been denied any transport facilities.
The Deputy is making a speech, not asking a question.
I should like to know from the Parliamentary Secretary why a solemn assurance which the Minister gave me is being dishonoured and what circumstances are responsible for that.
Mr. Lynch
I have no record of any assurance given by the Minister, but I have a record of the reply given in the House on the 22nd November last in which the Minister stated that the only thing he could promise is that he would try to find some way of dealing with the problem raised by the Deputy. I should like to remind the Deputy, even though he was not in public life in 1948, that it was in December, 1948, the decision was taken to close the school. As a private Deputy, I raised the question with the Minister's predecessor and I got the same reply as I am giving now to the Deputy; that the regulations will not warrant the provision of the service that the Deputy requires.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the circumstances have altered during the past few years? There are now on the island nine children of school-going age, between six and 14 years of age. I cannot see how he has reduced that figure to five. I am aware of the number of children on this island. There are 14 in all and nine of these are of school-going age. The Minister has these figures in his office. I will go further and say that it is as a result of some political influence being used by representatives of the Minister's own Party that this assurance given to me has not been honoured. Possibly it could be traced back to the local Fianna Fáil cumann.
asked the Minister for Education if he has received an application from a person in East Skeam Island, County Cork, for a grant to convey children to school in Hare Island; and, if so, what action he proposes to take on the application.
Mr. Lynch
I have not received an application from a person on East Skeam Island for a grant-in-aid of a boat service to convey school children to Hare Island national school.
Representations have, however, been made by other interested parties, to whom the matter was fully explained. The position is that there are at present only two children of school-going age on the island, and I regret that it is not permissible under the regulations to make a grant-in-aid of a boat service to convey such a small number of children to school.
Where a grant-aided boat service cannot be established it is open to my Department to make a small grant towards the cost of maintenance of island pupils living away from home in order to attend school, but as these children live at home and attend Hare Island school the question of a maintenance grant in their case does not arise.
Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that there are only two families living on this island, this man and his two children and another family of two old people. This man has children of seven and 11 years of age and, in order to provide educational facilities for them, he has no alternative except to take them to Hare Island school each morning by boat and go back for them at 3 o'clock in the afternoon. He has endeavoured to get the children accommodated on Hare Island, but that is an impossibility. He is a very poor man, and it is very difficult for him to take them to school in the morning and go back for them in the afternoon. In view of the exceptional circumstances, I ask the Parliamentary Secretary to look further into the matter. There are only two families on the island and he has no alternative——
The Deputy is repeating himself.
I ask the Parliamentary Secretary to reconsider the position.
Mr. Lynch
I will convey that to the Minister.