One-teacher schools are not in the best interests of pupils, Taoiseach Enda Kenny told the Dáil. He said the issue was exacerbated by rural depopulation.

Mr Kenny was responding to Independent Kerry South TD Tom Fleming, who called on him to act to defend rural schools and reverse the increase in the pupil-teacher ratio which was affecting small rural schools.

Mr Fleming said he had attended a “monster meeting” in Cahersiveen on Monday about the future of rural schools, and “strong opinions” were expressed about the frustration and concern of parents, teachers and boards of management.

He said Government policies had exacerbated the situation, particularly the phased increase since September 2012 in the pupil-teacher ratios of two-, three- and four-teacher schools. This had affected schools with fewer than 86 pupils and about half of primary schools.

Pupil minimums

The Independent TD said that in 2011 a two-teacher school needed 12 pupils to retain its teachers, 49 in a three-teacher school and 81 pupils in a four-teacher school. From September, the two-teacher school would need 20 pupils at a minimum, 56 for a three-teacher school and 86 for a four-teacher school.

Mr Fleming appealed to the Taoiseach to seriously reconsider Government policy.

There were repeated interruptions when Mr Kenny said the issue had been raised with him by local Fine Gael TD Brendan Griffin. Independent South Kerry TD Michael Healy-Rae claimed his constituency colleague “was in a coma for four years and he voted to close them”.

The Taoiseach said the Government had no intention of closing any school, but he said demographics would mean a continued drop in the number of children being born in rural areas.

He had heard no proposition from the “monster meeting” except “do something about it”. They needed to “look to the longer term and to the future of the numbers in these schools”, Mr Kenny said.