I, along with other public representatives in Kerry, attended a monster meeting in Caherciveen on Monday night regarding the future of our rural schools. Strong opinions were expressed regarding the frustration and concerns of parents, teachers and boards of management. A very dismal picture was painted of boarded-up schools and of many other schools which are in danger of a similar fate in the very near future. Every one of us from rural Ireland, particularly the Taoiseach, is well aware that these schools are at the heart of communities. They have been the main focal point of rural Ireland since the instigation of the education boards in 1931. The situation has been exacerbated, particularly by Government policies, over the past number of years. There has been a phased increase in the pupil-teacher ratio in two-, three- and four-teacher schools since September 2012. This has affected schools with fewer than 86 pupils and approximately half of the 3,200 primary schools.

In 2011, a two-teacher school needed 12 pupils to retain its teachers, a three-teacher school needed 49 pupils and a four-teacher school needed 81 pupils. From this September, a school will need a minimum of 20 pupils to retain two teachers, 56 pupils to employ three teachers and 86 pupils for four teachers. This is replicated across the country, particularly on the western seaboard and across rural Ireland.

Rural depopulation, migration, emigration and the economic decline in our rural areas are significant factors. It was suggested at the meeting that the introduction of emergency measures be examined. The figures quoted are impossible for these schools to reach. It was suggested that, as a gesture, a minimum retention figure be allowed. Otherwise, we will be faced with a serious dilemma and another hit on our quality education and, as already pointed out, on these communities in general. I ask the Taoiseach to seriously reconsider what is happening and to intervene.

Save our schools.

Deputy Fleming stole a march on Deputy Healy-Rae.

Deputy Griffin brought this to my attention yesterday.

He was in a coma for four years and he voted to close them.

Deputy Healy-Rae should look to his right.

The local election woke him up.

Deputy Healy-Rae is advised to watch his blood pressure.

The Taoiseach should get his teacher's cap now.

I thank Deputy Fleming for raising this matter, which is very sensitive and important in many locations in rural Ireland.

The Government has done this for three years.

Monster meetings began with a Kerryman many years ago.

It was as big as the one in Roscommon.

I hope they are not arrested.

I am not sure whether that one is considered to be a monster meeting or not.

Daniel O'Connell had more success, though.

This is an issue that needs to be considered very carefully.

What does the Taoiseach mean when he says he is considering it very carefully? This has been going on for three years.

Deputy Fleming mentioned four, three and two-teacher schools, and some that have become one-teacher schools. The Government has no intention of closing any schools. The problem is that in many areas, the demographics over the next period are going to mean a continued drop in the number of children who are born-----

No. The Government changed the ratio.

Change the ratio.

It is not Deputy Martin's question. Deputy Fleming is entitled to a reply. I ask the Deputies to stay quiet.

The pupil-teacher ratio is one issue. The number of children born and living and eligible to go to school in any locality is another. Where I come from, there has been a huge drop in numbers in many rural areas. There are 14 one-teacher schools in the county at the moment.

The former Minister, Deputy Quinn, reduced the pupil-teacher ratio.

I do not support the concept of one-teacher schools. They are not in the best interests of children. The numbers can be very small and the schools do not have all of the facilities or the competitive peer activity that children would expect in school.

So the Taoiseach wants to close them.

Will the Deputies please allow a reply to the question?

This is an issue that needs to be looked at very carefully and in the longer term. I did not hear any proposition coming from the monster meeting in Kerry except "Do something about it."

What needs to be done is-----

Reverse the ratio.

-----to look at the projections for the number of years ahead for every school-----

They have been looked at long enough.

-----and say to people, if the trend continues, that the population of school-going children is dropping in many localities in rural Ireland.

The Labour Party did this.

This has got to be examined in the context of what we must do for the future. Do we provide incentives for communities in order that they will want to continue with the school if it becomes a one-teacher school-----

The Government will have made it a one-teacher school.

-----or should the school consider amalgamating with another school? These are issues that need to be addressed.

The Taoiseach has addressed them, but disastrously.

There are many parishes in my own county where the number of eligible children of school-going age has dropped away completely.

The Taoiseach is waffling.

It is not like it used to be a hundred years ago, when schools were built within walking distance. It is all very different now. Population numbers are way down in many areas.

It is different because of the Taoiseach's policy.

I accept that this issue is of great importance to people all over the country.

So why did the Government make those cuts?

An enrolment Bill is coming before the Dáil in the not too distant future. We need to look to the longer term and to the future of the numbers in these schools. I thank the Deputy for raising the question.

The Government targeted rural schools in the cuts.

Fianna Fáil broke the country. Wake up to that.

I find it very disturbing that people who did not ask a question are interrupting, which means the Deputy who asked the question cannot hear the reply. Will Members please show some respect to the Deputy who asked? All of the Deputies had their turn. Please accept that Deputy Fleming is entitled to ask a supplementary question without interruption and to hear the reply.

The Taoiseach has a better grasp of this than probably any other public representative or any Deputy in this House today, as teaching was his profession. He is well aware of the situation facing rural schools. The Government has not been looking at many options to address the matter. It is not too late at this stage. It may be the 12th hour before the September term starts.

The Government is giving a fiscal reason, but we have to get away from the policies of austerity and recession at this stage.

Hear, hear.

The choice is to go back to the people.

We have to give a bit of hope back to the people.

Hear, hear.

We need to return to the policies of positivity and progression. People in areas that are dying on their feet are acting up and will do so to an increasing extent in the near future. I foresee that many of these meetings will be held throughout the country because of the huge impact of the decline of rural society and the rural fabric of this country. It has been pointed out that amalgamation is not an option. Schools in many of these remote areas have already been amalgamated. This solution means there are more school buses on the road. Some people have to travel back and forth seven or eight miles. It was pointed out at the meeting that the return trips made by the parents of some pupils, when added up over the duration of those pupils' school careers, are more than the extent of the circumference of the globe. It is interesting to look at it in those terms. We have huge class sizes. Between 30 and 35 pupils are being taught in some rooms due to teacher losses. It is not acceptable that some schools are down to one teacher.

I ask the Deputy to put his question.

Special needs pupils and the vulnerable are falling behind in all of this. Rural Ireland is falling behind as well. The loss of resource teachers for special needs pupils was also pointed out. I ask the Taoiseach, who has a real grasp of this issue, to discuss with the Minister for Education and Skills the implications of where we are going. We are sliding down in Europe, so to speak. We have the second largest class sizes in the EU. We are going down on a slippery slope. I ask the Taoiseach to halt it immediately.

The Government needs to do something for rural schools.

I thank Deputy Fleming for that. Clearly, school-going populations have dropped in quite a number of areas, particularly on the west coast. I know of one location where nine schools have closed over the past 30 years because of depopulation. I have spoken to the Minister for Education and Skills about this important issue. Clearly, there is an issue here in respect of teachers themselves and the peer support they have. In addition, communities need to look at the future of the educational facilities in their areas. I think people are beginning to focus more than they did in the past on the futures of their local schools. How can the local school be maintained if the population is dropping and there are just seven, ten or 15 pupils in the school?

The ratio is going up.

Is that in the best interests of the children from an educational point of view? Obviously, there is a very strong feeling for the school situation in any locality.

What is the Taoiseach on about?

I attended a two-teacher school many years ago.

I would say it was a good few years ago.

There is a great strength in having the local entity. The Minister is acutely aware of this.

Why does she not do something about it?

Why is she not doing something acutely?

She is very conscious of the impact of the situation for rural Ireland. Obviously, she is considering the position. I thank the Deputy for the points he has raised. As I said, they were raised with me by Deputy Griffin the other day. It is an issue that we will address.