A plea has been made to the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív, to put pressure on his colleague, Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe, to prevent the loss of teaching posts in rural schools.
The call has come from the Fine Gael spokesperson, Deputy Michael Ring, who has highlighted the plight of schools such as Inver National School which will lose two teachers, Craggagh National School, Killawalla National School, and other schools in the county which are losing teachers.
Dep Ring stated: “It is a disgraceful situation which is emerging in relation to the schools in Mayo. Losing teachers will have a profound effect on the schools. All the hard work which was done with pupils in schools in the last number of years will be undermined by the loss of their teachers. It will again increase class sizes.”
Dep Ring continued: “It is an attack on rural Ireland and the children in rural Ireland. The school is a vital part of the community. By removing teachers from those schools, it will have a devastating effect for the schools. Disadvantaged schools need support, need financing, need their teachers. This is what is needed, not cutbacks.
I am calling on Minister Ó Cuív in his capacity as Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to talk to his colleague, Batt O'Keeffe, to reverse this decision. It will have a very negative effect on rural Ireland,” concluded Dep Ring.
