I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter and I thank the Minister for coming in to respond. The purpose of my being here this evening is to appeal strongly to the Minister to sanction the long-standing application on behalf of these two junior schools at the North Monastery, Cork, for a shared home/school community liaison teacher. I do so for a number of reason, the first of which is that the school in question has met all the necessary requirements in respect of eligibility for that particular post. All neighbouring schools without exception on that side of Cork city already have in place this particular type of teacher provision. Girls who go to the convent school down the road have a home-school-community liaison teacher while their brothers who go to the North Monastery and who come from the same home and community circumstances have no such provision. That is grossly unfair. It cannot be condoned and continued. Not alone do all the primary schools on that side of the city have this kind of teacher but all the second level schools have such a teacher too so there is clearly an anomaly which must be addressed. It is a grave injustice that little boys attending that school do not have the same kind of educational benefit which their sisters and brothers have in every other school on that side of the city and it must be remedied.
The North Monastery in Cork is a proud school with a great tradition of education and learning. Its past pupils include people like former Taoiseach Jack Lynch, the late Chris Curran who died this year, Eddie Golding and a host of successful people in industry, business and politics. The intelligence of the young people in that area has not diminished since those glorious days, but the economic circumstances of a large number of families have changed dramatically because of long-term unemployment. That is why these schools needs that type of teacher.
Unless young people get adequate and proper education and training their chances of getting a good job and getting on the ladder of life are vastly diminished. Unless we intervene and target proper programmes of education and training at areas of long-term unemployment, young people will continue to be disadvantaged for the remainder of their lives. In light of the circumstances I described, will the Minister give this matter her attention and sanction this shared post between two primary schools, the last remaining schools in that part of Cork city which do not have a home-school-community liaison teacher.
