asked the Minister for Education whether he has considered the consequences his decision to raise the age of admission of pupils to national schools to five years will have on small rural schools which may be forced to close or reduce the number of teachers with resultant hardship to families in rural communities; and whether the Government has any plans to provide an alternative system of pre-national school education.

I would refer the Deputy to my replies to Questions Nos. 5 and 6.

The same considerations as I have already indicated preclude me from making any further observation in relation to the subject matter of the Deputy's question, other than to refer him to my general observations during the course of the debate in Private Members' Time on 4 November 1981 (Volume 330 No. 7) during which, inter alia, I stated that no two-teacher school would become a one-teacher school as a result of this change and also outlined the Government's commitment in the matter of pre-schooling.

This is a recording.

I barely caught the last phrase about pre-schooling. Would the Minister repeat the last few words of his reply, please? His voice dropped.

In the matter of pre-schooling.

Would the Minister agree that the Kemmy-Fine Gael £1 million which has been mentioned in relation to the pre-school provision is not at all adequate to make up for the services which he is withdrawing from the community?

Would he tell the House whether the £4.5 million, which have been estimated as being necessary to make up for what has happened, will be available immediately from the Government?

I did not quite hear the first part of the Deputy's question.

The first part of my question was, would the Minister agree that the Kemmy-Fine Gael £1 million publicised in the newspapers will be totally inadequate to make provision for what has been taken away from the community by circular No. 24 of 1981? Can he tell the House whether the £4.5 million, which has been estimated as necessary to adequately compensate for what he is withdrawing by circular No. 24 of 1981, will be immediately available from the Government?

I would not agree with the first part of the Deputy's question and would disagree with the financial estimate contained in the second part.

8.