Jim O'Keeffe
Ceist:7 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans, if any, he has to develop educational facilities for the residents of our offshore islands. [21614/97]
Other Questions. - Educational Facilities on Offshore Islands.
It is my policy that where possible education should be provided on islands for both primary and post primary pupils. The issue of educational provision for residents of offshore islands was considered by an interdepartmental committee which reported in February 1996. While the committee recognised that good educational facilities can be a key factor in island development, it accepted that it would not be feasible to provide post primary schools on each island.
Where there is no second level school on an island, island families are eligible for financial assistance under the remote area boarding grant scheme to facilitate a child's attendance at school on the mainland. This scheme provides for the payment of grants up to £1,800 in each case towards the costs of boarding or lodgings. In August I took the decision which has meant that with effect from 1 September 1997 this grant is not means tested. This will directly benefit island dwellers who may have had difficulties due to their ineligibility for this grant.
An Action Programme for the Millennium gave a specific commitment to one teacher primary schools. I am currently examining a range of options with a view to identifying the most appropriate way to fulfil the Government's commitments in this regard. A number of one-teacher schools are located on islands. One of the 24 schools which I Iooked after on coming into office and for which I made arrangements in July and August was on Oileán Cléire in Deputy Jim O'Keeffe's constituency. We are considering increasing the provision for island schools from September next.
In 1994 a special arrangement was made to improve communication facilities for island schools. Under this arrangement, primary schools located on islands were supplied with telecommunications facilities, including telephones, fax facilities, modems, computers and printers. I assure Deputies that, with my ministerial colleagues in the Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, I am committed to ensuring that all persons living on our offshore islands have reasonable access to quality education.
I welcome the Minister's decision to withdraw the means test used to provide support to second level island students who were obliged to attend secondary schools on the mainland. It is a considerable advantage to many island families who must send children to the mainland. Does the Minister agree it would be better if children were educated in their own environment on the islands? On Arranmore Island, 70 to 80 children left the island each Sunday evening and returned the following Friday. However, a secondary school was provided by Donegal vocational education committee so children on Arranmore Island now stay at home with their parents until they have completed at least their leaving certificates. For how many children would the Department provide a viable secondary school on an island? Are there guidelines in this regard?
That is a fairly lethal question. People would argue that if we want to provide a full curricular choice, we would need a minimum of 250 students for a post primary school. The Deputy's question was more specific to islands. Obviously, a school with 80 pupils is surviving well on Arranmore Island. On my travels over the past six months I have come across post primary schools with 120 and 200 pupils which are doing well and providing an acceptable curriculum to the parents and students. The balance which must be weighed up is the issue of the geographic logistics, the distance involved in travelling and the curriculum and resources which can be provided. Vocational education committees may have some latitude in the number of hours they get globally from the Department. It is something I will examine and if the Deputy has any suggestions in terms of a number of islands in his locality, I will gladly take them on board.
Will the Minister agree to an immediate review of the information technology, hardware and software, available in all island schools and on islands generally? As he knows, there are interesting innovations in parts of the country, particularly in west Cork, which have the potential to telematically deliver considerable educational opportunity. That can only be successfully drawn down if there is proper hardware which is supported. Will he agree to undertake an urgent review of island schools to identify weaknesses and perhaps give them priority in his programmes?
Yes. We want the island schools well looked after in the context of the School IT 2000 programme. Given their situation, the new technologies have special relevance for islands in terms of education provision and the development of telematics. I met people from a group of schools in west Cork, which included the island schools in Oileán Cléire as well as other primary schools on the mainland, who were developing a joint approach to technology in the schools. I would be very proactive in that regard and I will examine all the islands as the Deputy suggested.
Another difficulty arises occasionally with island children attending secondary schools on the mainland and who stay with local families. Sometimes 15 or 16 children from Tory Island attending school on the mainland forego the advantage of going home for the mid-term break in the winter months because they are dependent on a ferry to get them across and they cannot get home. When this happens we rely on the Aer Corps to provide an emergency service to get them to the island. It always responds positively. This is something the Minister should at least be familiar with and perhaps he may be able to do something definite for children who cannot get home for their mid-term break.
I will review the situation.
I note the parliamentary question refers to educational facilities on offshore islands, which means more than just schooling. Recognising the desirability for children to be close to their parents during their formative years, is the Minister supportive of the "sa bhaile" movement and in what way? It provides a number of examples to show that the option of schooling at home has been preferable to the often long distances which people on islands and in other areas where schooling might be awkward or difficult to find often have to travel.
Does the Deputy mean schooling in the child's house?
Yes, with their parents taking the constitutional prerogative as being the primary educator. If that is something he could perhaps give more form to in the way the Australian Government has had to do of necessity, given the long distances to be travelled in that country, it might be of relevance to our offshore islands in some cases.
I am open to different forms of education provision and people invariably come up with new ideas and approaches. We should be very careful to ensure there is healthy social interaction between children. I am not convinced that children educated on their own in the home or with one or two others is necessarily a good thing in terms of their broader educational and personal development.
When I met people from a number of one teacher schools in Mayo last year when I was in Opposition, one issue they raised was the social isolation in a remote rural area. There might be 17 or 18 children in a school and this is a completely different social context compared to a school with 300 or 400, especially where the age levels range from four to 12. I am concerned about that.
The area of home-school links, for example, and the home-school liaison approach, which involves parents with the school, is the way to go, especially in the context of the islands. This means the school on the island would be used as a resource for adult learning, parenting courses and involving parents with students. There tends to be a community approach to all things on offshore islands. They are very proactive and self-reliant in that regard and probably achieve much more than by using the conventional methodology employed on the mainland.