MORE than 70 rural primary schools are under threat of closure if the current trend in rural depopulation continues, according to Ireland’s largest teachers’ union, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO).
The prediction is made by Donegal native and General Secretary of the INTO, John Boyle, in an edition of TG4’s flagship current affairs programme Iniúchadh TG4 which examines the impact of rural decline in remote parts of Ireland.
The documentary Bánú na Tuaithe (Rural Depopulation) presented by the award-winning investigative journalist Kevin Magee and airing tonight at 9.30 pm, explores the pressing question: Is rural Ireland really dying?
According to the latest data from the Department of Education and Youth, the number of children enrolling in primary schools across the country fell by 6,470 last year.
Eleven primary schools have closed permanently since last June due to falling rolls, with others now facing an uncertain future. According to the INTO, the problem is getting worse.
Speaking in Irish Mr Boyle said: “If things continue the way they are, more than 70 schools will come under pressure. These small schools are located at the heart of the area, at the heart of the community, and if they close them, like the post office and other places, there will be no heart left in these communities. It is therefore extremely important to the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation that the government properly supports small schools.”
One obvious solution is to decrease the teacher-pupil ratio in specific schools that are under threat, according to Mr Boyle.
“They have to support small schools, and they can do that by reducing the number of children in classes. The class sizes in this country are larger than anywhere else in Europe.” – he said in Irish.
Data
According to the latest 2022 census figures, the population of Ireland at 5.149 million was up 8 per cent on the previous 2016 figure.
Sustainable rural development expert Professor Mary O’Shaughnessy from Cork University’s Business School says overall population growth figures can mask the extent of population decline in some rural areas.
“The population in Ireland is at its highest since the 1850s and when we look at the population distribution, we can see that there’s been population growth in both urban and rural areas. But when we look at it more closely, what we do find is that the rural areas that appear to have grown are those that are closest to urban centers or closest to our cities.
“But there continues to be a decline in the numbers of population in rural regions that are more remote, that are more peripheral, that are particularly located along the western seaboard, and that are also in some parts of rural Midlands as well,” said Professor O’Shaughnessey.