Vol. 455 No. 8
186 Miss de Valera asked the Minister for Education the measures, if any, she intends to take to prevent the imminent closure of Cóláiste Íde, Dingle, County Kerry; and if she will make a statement on the matter following her recent meeting with a delegation. [12396/95]
The position is that Coláiste Íde, an all-Irish secondary boarding school for girls, is owned and managed by the Mercy Order of nuns. In 1990, the order took a decision to withdraw from ownership and management of the school at the end of the 1995-96 school year. They cited a shortage of religious personnel as the main reason for this decision.
At that stage, the Mercy Sisters had hoped that the school could continue in operation after 1996, under a different management. The order subsequently informed the Department that, despite protracted discussions with local groups regarding a future alternative management structure, no satisfactory proposal had been received by them. Accordingly, the Mercy Order announced that it had decided to close the school at the end of the 1995-96 school year.
As the school is a private secondary boarding school run by a religious order of nuns, any decision in relation to the future of the school, including a decision to close, is essentially a matter for the management authorities of the school. I am satisfied that the two remaining all-Irish secondary schools in Dingle can adequately cater for the school-going children in the area.
