17th February, 2012

Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers’ Association (ICSA) Connaught/Ulster Vice President, John Flynn, has called on the Minister of Education, Ruairi Quinn, not to close the small schools in rural Ireland

John Flynn: “The failings of the past Government and bloated bankers has meant that the education of children in the countryside has been compromised. Minister Quinn has been forced to make cost cutting measures in line with the financial constraints we are operating under but this should not be at the expense of the children of rural Ireland. As it stands, the failings of the past have dealt a death sentence to these schools and Minister Quinn should find alternative ways of cutting spending rather than focusing on the easy targets of rural schools.

“Smaller rural schools are part of the very fabric of our society and many of them are more than a century old. Implementing cuts on these schools is a direct attack on rural society in Ireland. By closing these schools, the Minister is closing decades of tradition, removing the focal point for the lives of hundreds of people and all for miniscule savings,” Mr. Flynn said.